Welcome to Beacon Hills
by ValyrianGryffindor
Summary: Skyler moves to Beacon Hills after the death of her mother, trying to get closer to her long estranged father. She expected it to be hard, but she didn't expect to fall for the geeky son of the Sheriff, or to discover that werewolves exist and the town is overrun with them. XX Rated T for language. Please R&R!
1. Welcome to Beacon Hills

**This is the first in a new series of oneshots about my OC in the Teen Wolf universe. It will eventually be a Stiles x OC storyline. Any reviews or criticism are very welcome :D**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but Skyler and her family.**

 **Welcome to Beacon Hills**

The road was slick with recent rainfall. It was also dark. This combination was not good for driving, especially along a narrow forest road that Skyler was unfamiliar with. Beacon Hills was ridiculously covered with thick woodland which was both good and bad. On one hand, Skyler could find some new running trails, on the other hand, it would take ages to find her way around.

Skyler looked out the window, her mind wandering to the thought of her mother. She would've loved Beacon Hills, the preserve, the lookout point that gave an amazing view of the entire town, the diners, bowling alley and the unhealthy obsession with lacrosse. She took a deep breath, feeling her eyes begin to fill with tears, and dragged her attention to the radio of her car. It was quite old, a 67 Chevy Impala, so the radio had an awful habit of refusing to work. She took one hand off of the wheel, fiddling with the tuner, stopping on a station playing All Time Low's 'Backseat Serenade'.

Skyler sang along at the top of her voice, moshing her head to the beat. As the song ended, her phone began to blare Aerosmith. She checked it and saw her dad's name flash across the screen. Skyler swiped sideways and put her phone onto loudspeaker, throwing it onto the seat next to her.

"Hey, Nick."

"Hey, sweetheart," her dad replied, his voice sounded tense. It was probably the fact that his own daughter had referred to him as Nick.

"What d'you want?" Skyler glanced down at her phone. It was nearly eleven, she hadn't even gotten to her dad's house, she had to move her stuff in, and be ready for her first day of school in the morning.

"I wanted to make sure you were alright. I felt bad that I wouldn't be able to be at home when you get there. but you know this work thing is urgent... Rebecca will be there."

Skyler looked out the window. She was passing the entrance of the preserve now. There was a baby blue Jeep park there, and a few men in police uniforms milling around. Her attention was drawn back to her phone by an irritating little voice issuing from it.

"Sky? Sky, can you hear me?"

"That's all I need, Nick. Your bitch of a girlfriend welcoming me with open arms."

Skyler reached down and grabbed her phone, hanging up on Nick and letting out a frustrated sigh. She closed his eyes for a second squeezing them shut and exhaling heavily. She opened her eyes and focused them back onto the road.

"Holy shit!"

Skyler slammed on the brakes. There was what looked like a giant, hulking wolf crouched in the middle of the road. The car spun wildly, sliding across the road and eventually coming to a stop when the passenger side slammed into a tree. She was hunched over the wheel, almost hyperventilating. After a few minutes, she shakily took her hands off the wheel and opened the car door. She walked slowly around to the other side of the car, inspecting the damage.

"Fuuuuck."

The whole side of the car was caved in. This was going to be nearly her entire savings to fix. Skyler stood at looked at the car for a few minutes, fighting back tears of immense frustration and exhaustion. After another four or five minutes of staring at the car, hoping it would miraculously fix itself, she decided to walk back up to where she had seen the policemen. It was only about a quarter of a mile up the road.

Skyler gathered her essential's from the car. Phone, purse, keys, backpack. She was petrified of the dark, but she took off up the road anyway, knowing it was her only chance of getting anywhere was if she reached the men in uniforms. The first thing that she noticed was that the Jeep was gone. It was a shame, cause that car was a real beauty.

"You all right ma'am? Do you need any help?"

Skyler turned to face a young, handsome man in a deputy's outfit. His name badge read 'Parrish'.

"Uh, yeah, actually."

She told the deputy her story, including the part about the giant wolf. He replied that there hadn't been wolves in California in 60 years, but was otherwise quite helpful. He even offered to take her home once he was finished there, but the Sheriff insisted that he would as, apparently, he knew he father and his house was on the way to the Sheriff Stilinski's.

The Sheriff was a kind man, with comforting eyes and a warm smile. Skyler felt comfortable being in the car with him. He was the kind of father she would want if she could choose her own family. They stopped at her car to pick up anything she would need for the next day.

"So..." Skyler started, "Why were you guys out in the preserve tonight?"

"I can't really discuss the details of a case with you," the Sheriff chastised gently, with a smile, "How about a change of subject? Why did you move here?"

"I wanted to be closer to my dad."

That used to be true when she was younger, maybe, but now... She wasn't sure.

"And my, uh, my mom passed away. Car accident."

The Sheriff was silent for a while. His eyes fixed on the road ahead.

"I'm very sorry for your loss. I have a son about your age," his voice sounded thick, like he had a lump in his throat, "My wife passed when he was around ten."

"I'm sorry."

The conversation in the car died out. It wasn't uncomfortable, just quiet. Skyler began to recognise the streets as she got closer and closer to her dad's house. She didn't want to have to leave the car where she felt warm and safe, and have to go into the house and deal with her dad's girlfriend.

"So, are you going to be going to Beacon Hills High?"

"Yeah, yeah I am," she snapped out of her daze, "I'm gonna be starting tomorrow."

"My son goes there. He's starting his sophomore year tomorrow," the Sheriff told her as they swung into her dad's driveway, "His name is Stiles, you need anything, you can go to him."

"Thanks, I'll have to keep that in mind."

Skyler climbed out of the car and grabbed her two duffel bags and her backpack. The Sheriff got out of the car too, and stood next to her. He pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to her.

"That has my personal cell number, call me if you ever need help, or anything else."

"Thanks again, Sheriff."

Skyler stood in the driveway and watched the Sheriff climb back into his patrol car and take off down the road. She dragged herself up to the door, groaning internally. She would now have to deal with Rebecca, and also have the agonising job of calling her dad and explaining that she had wrapped her car around a tree in the middle of nowhere. That would be fun.

She pulled her keys out of her pocket before realising that she didn't have one for her dad's house yet. It was just gone midnight, the lights were all off and Rebecca was definitely asleep. Skyler rolled her eyes, knowing she would have to wake her dad's girlfriend up to let her in. She began to knock as quietly but as firmly as possible. It took nearly five minutes of knocking before she saw a light go on upstairs. She braced herself for the conversation that was to come, and then realised something else. She was without a car for the next week at least, meaning she would have to ask Rebecca for a lift to and from school.

The front door creaked open slowly, and Skyler rolled her eyes as she heard Rebecca's familiar shriek.

"Skyler!"

Skyler slid through the front door, wanting nothing more than to just roll into bed and never get up again. She could feel Rebecca watching her from the front door, but she kept walking. She went up the stairs and into the room she knew had been designated for her. The only items of furniture in the room were a bed and a desk. Skyler threw her bags on the floor, kicked off her Converse and fell onto the bed, still wearing her shorts and t-shirt. She lay on her back, staring at the ceiling. She could her Rebecca climbing the stairs and closing the door of her own room, and outside Skyler swore that she heard a wolf howling. She closed her eyes and rolled onto her side.

"Welcome to Beacon Hills," she thought.


	2. Allison and Stiles and Lydia, Oh My!

Skyler sat on a bench outside the front of the school. She fiddled with her phone, wanting to text her friends from Lawrence. She felt so alone right now and just wanted to get up and walk right out of the school. The problem was that she was stuck there until school ended because Rebecca had to pick her up.

"Um, hi."

Skyler looked to the side. A pretty girl, with long dark hair and pale skin had sat down next to her. Her voice was quiet and shy, and she sounded as worried as Sky felt.

"Hey," she replied, sending the girl a smile, "I'm Skyler."

"Allison Argent," the dark haired girl told her, with a small grin.

"So...you're new, too?"

"Yeah," Allison replied, "I just moved from San Francisco. You?"

"Lawrence, in Kansas. I got here a few months back," Skyler said, and ducked her head, knowing the question would come up sooner or later and decided she would rather it happened sooner, "So...why did you move?"

"My dad made us move. His job, I mean," Allison rectified, "He's an arms dealer for the cops."

Sky gave a low whistle, and grinned widely.

"That's pretty bad ass," Skyler was being honest. She really wished she knew how to shoot, just in case of a zombie apocalypse, or whatever. And she felt like she could be honest around Allison. She was usually quite shy when getting to know someone new, but something about Allison was comforting, and familiar, like she had known her for years instead of minutes.

"Why did you move, Skyler?"

The dreaded question.

"You can call me Sky, all my friends do. Did, anyway. Before I moved," Skyler took a deep breath, "My mom, she, uh, she passed away."

Allison looked terrified. She had just broached the most taboo of all subjects without any subtlety or finesse. Skyler felt bad for Allison. She shouldn't be worried, there wasn't a thing she could say in that situation that didn't bring up painful memories.

"Oh. I shouldn't have asked. I'm really-"

"Sorry? Allison, it's fine. No, really. I was gonna have to tell someone sooner or later. It's actually a relief to get it over with," Sky stated, firmly, as Allison started to protest.

"But I-"

Allison was cut off by a shrill ringing in her bag. She shoved her hand in and began to root through her well organised bag. Skyler started to search for her phone too. Classes had started almost ten minutes ago and the principal still hadn't arrived. She replied to a text from Nick, reassuring him that all was well in the world of Beacon Hills High School. Not that he really cared, but it was nice of him to try. Sky still hadn't told him about the car accident last night. She had three other texts from her old friends in Lawrence. Her stomach contracted painfully as she though of Megan, Charlotte and Brook starting sophomore year without her.

"Mom, three calls on my first day is a little overdoing it."

Skyler grinned at Allison's tone. She was obviously getting tired of her mother's persistent calls. Allison dug deeper into her bag and sighed.

"Everything except a pen," she continued, "Oh my God, I didn't actually forget a pen."

Sky looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps. The principal was walking towards them, an apologetic grimace on his face.

"Okay, okay, gotta go. Love you." Allison hung up, smiling at Sky. She looked embarrassed, and rolled her eyes, endearingly.

"My mom's a bit...over protective. To say the least. You know what it's like," Allison told her, as if it was a source of shame.

"Yeah..." Sky wished she did, but her dad truly didn't give a shit and Rebecca wasn't family. It wasn't her place to give a shit.

Allison laughed lightly, and then stood as the principal stopped by them. Sky stood too. She was a bit taller than Allison

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

It was nice to have made a friend within the first hour in her new school. What was not so nice is that Alison was only in two of her classes, English and Econ, and her homeroom. Later in the day, Skyler awkwardly made her way to her Chemistry class. She got lost twice along the way and stopped at her locker, which took a few minutes to open. When she reached the lab she was ten minutes late, at least she had lunch after this class.

She knocked on the door and entered. The teacher turned to look at her, his eyes narrowed. He was a tall man with glasses and greasy black hair. Skyler could already sense that he was going to be a dick. He just stood there and looked at her. He made no attempt to speak to her, just stared and made her feel like an awkward piece of shit. People in the room began to laugh nervously.

"Uh, hi. Is this Mr Harris' Chemistry class?"

"And you are...?"

"Skyler Gray. I just transferred," Sky moved forward, handing him the papers the principal had given her, "Sorry for being late, I got a bit lost."

Mr Harris examined the paper with a little frown on his face. He huffed quietly and waved his hand towards the only empty seat in the room.

"Everyone else has a lab partner for this term. You can sit with Mr Stilinski."

The name Stilinski rang a bell in the back of her mind, it sounded overly familiar. Then it hit her. The Sheriff's second name was Stilinski, this must be his son with the funny name. Sky threw herself into the seat beside the boy that still had not looked up. He was scribbling furiously on a page. None of it was to do with chemistry.

"Hey, you're Stiles, right?" Skyler felt super awkward just sitting there, hoping that the boy would sit up and look at her, not just leave her hanging.

When he did though, she felt like her stomach was gonna fall out of her butt. He was tall and lanky, well he looked tall and lanky anyway. She couldn't really judge while he was sitting down. He had the most stunning caramel coloured eyes she had ever seen. His dark brown, nearly black hair was styled in a buzzcut, which oddly suited him. He had alabaster skin, covered with a spattering of moles across his face and neck, including his adorable upturned nose. In short, he was one of the most attractive boys Skyler had ever met.

"Uh... How do you know my name?" Stiles looked oddly bemused by her introduction, but grinned anyway.

"Your dad, the Sheriff, he drove me home last night. I crashed my car. There was this, like, big wolf in the middle of the road and I hit a tree and yeah...," Sky trailed off.

"Oh. Well, cool."

Sky could have kicked herself. He obviously thought she was totally nuts. She was about to return her gaze to the worksheet that Mr Harris had given her, when Stiles grabbed her wrist.

"Is that a Batman bracelet?!"

He forgot to lower his voice, earning him a glare from Mr Harris, but he seemed to excited to care about that. He was inspecting the bracelet as if he was expecting it to be false.

"Yeah," Skyler told him, "I also have Superman, Spiderman, Iron Man, Black Widow, Star Lord, the Hulk, Deadpool, and Captain America. I like superheroes."

Stiles brought his eyes up to hers, grinning widely.

"Nice taste in superheroes."

"Thanks."

For some reason the conversation felt more comfortable now that they had something in common. Skyler realised that she had been silently smiling at Stiles for nearly a minute without saying anything. She bent her head and started filling in her worksheet, but every so often she would sneak a glance at the boy next to her. He was usually looking over at another boy sitting at the desk behind them. He has shaggy brown hair and resembled a lost puppy.

Sky stood as the bell rang, signaling the start of lunch. She rose to her feet, grabbing her messenger bag and heading towards the door. She felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned to stare at Stiles who was standing very close to her back and rocking back and forward on the balls of his feet.

"If you want, you can sit with me and my friend Scott at lunch," Stiles told her. He was twitching slightly, his movements quick and jerky, like he was being electrocuted.

"Oh, well thanks. Thanks so much," Sky stumbled over her words. She was never like this, but there was something about that boy's eyes that made her melt, "I'm just gonna go to my locker and then I'll find you. Is that okay?"

"Cool. Cooooool," he dragged out the word, smiling thinly.

The locker wasn't opening. Again. Skyler was tired of trying to open it gently and just began to bang the locker angrily.

"Your dress is stunning."

Skyler turned around, her eyebrows furrowed, wondering who had talked to her. It was a girl about her age, with long strawberry blond hair. She looked like the stereotypical bitch in American high school movies. She was observing Skyler with intelligent hazel eyes, giving her an obvious Manhattan once over. The girl cocked a hip and placed her hand on it. Her smile seemed almost condescending.

"Thanks, " Skyler replied, "It was a gift."

"Well, whomever bought has great taste. And so do you. I'm Lydia, Lydia Martin. And you are...?"

"Skyler Gray, I just moved here," Sky told her, still tugging slightly on her lock.

"I know, I would have noticed you before if you had always gone to school here."

Sky felt slightly more comfortable when she noticed Allison appearing behind Lydia, grinning over the red head's shoulder. She seemed to sense that there was someone standing behind her, and spun around, her hair flying out like a fan. Sky had to duck to avoid being smacked in the face by Lydia's mane of hair.

"Allison, this is our new friend-"

"Skyler. We've met already," Allison told her, smiling.

"Perfect, let's go to lunch then," Lydia's tone had a commanding note to it, she was obviously used to being in charge.

Sky pulled on her lock a few more times, then turned back to Lydia. She found her pressed against a locker, with some guy practically eating her face. Allison was awkwardly rocking, just like Stiles had done at the end of chemistry class. When Lydia and the guy pulled apart, they made a disgusting suction cup like noise. Lydia pulled back and ran her hand down the guy's chest.

"This is Jackson," she addressed Allison and Skyler again

Jackson did nothing but nod at both of them and run his hand down Lydia's back to grab her ass.

"So, this weekend, there's a party..." Lydia started pulling Jackson close to her.

"A party?" Allison looked uncomfortable at the very idea.

"Yeah, Friday night, you guys should come..." Jackson left the offer hang in mid air.

"Oh," Allison grasped desperately for an excuse, "I can't, it's family night on Friday. But thanks for asking.

"Well, I am definitely up for it," Skyler was delighted that not only had she made several friends on her first day, but she had also been invited to a party.

"Nice," Jackson gave her an insincere nod, then turned to Allison, "You're sure ? Everyone's going after the game."

"You mean like football?" Allison asked, her nose scrunching up slightly. Football was obviously not her kind of thing.

"Football is a joke here," Jackson scoffed, "The sport here is lacrosse. We won national championship last year."

"Because of a certain team captain," Lydia licked her lips seductively and began to grope Jackson again.

"We have practice after school. If you don't have anything else to do..." Jackson smirked. Skyler had taken an almost immediate dislike to this guy. He seemed like a douche.

"Well, I was going to-"

"Perfect! You'll come!" Lydia interrupted, "And you too, Skyler. No excuses. Now. Lunch."

Lydia grabbed Skyler and Allison's hands and dragged them in the direction of the cafeteria. Sky grinned at Allison behind Lydia's back. She liked Lyida. She seemed like fun, a party girl and an absolute BAMF. She also reminded Sky of her friend Erin, that she had known when she was in Kansas, which just made Sky love her more. By the time they reached the lunch room, Skyler had forgotten all about Stiles' offer to eat lunch with him and his friend. She was excited to be sitting with a table of her new friends. They seemed like the popular crowd too. It was a nice feeling.

Skyler managed to drag herself through her last three classes, maths, biology and art. When the bell rang at half three, Skyler was ready to get home, throw herself into bed and never get up again. But she had promised Lydia that she would go to lacrosse with her. She made her way slowly to the lacrosse field. Stiles was sitting on the bench, nervously chewing on his lacrosse glove. She sat down next to him softly.

"Sorry."

Stiles looked up at her, jumped in fright and flailed wildly, nearly smacking her in the face.

"Woah. Hey. Why are you sorry?"

"For not sitting with you at lunch today."

"You didn't, uh, you didn't have to. You know. It was just a suggestion," Stiles leg was bouncing up and down rapidly and he kept glancing behind them.

Skyler followed his gaze and saw that he was looking at Lydia, his face a mask of adoration. Sky felt her stomach drop a bit. It hurt to see him look at another girl like that. Which was ridiculous as she had only met him about three hours ago.

"So, you're friends with Lydia now?" Stiles asked, trying to sound casual, but his face was beginning to flush red.

"She kinda demanded it," Skyler muttered, "She seems nice."

"Yeah..." Stiles trailed off, dreamily.

"She's having a party on Friday night. You wanna go with me?"

Stiles was a bit shocked at how sudden this question was, but gave her a wide and genuine smile.

"Sure. That would be fun. So is it like a date, or as friends, cause we just met today and I don't know if we're dating or are we friends yet, but either's fine-"

Skyler cut him off, grabbing his arm and turning it over. She pulled a pen out of her pocket and scribbled her phone number on his wrist.

"Text me. Then I'll have your number and I can send you my address. You can pick me up at half seven on Friday."

Skyler stood and began to walk up the bleachers towards Lydia and Allison. She sat down just as Allison began to ask about Stiles' friend that looked like a puppy.

So, on her first day, Sky had made several friends, met a cute guy, been invited to a party, and Lydia had even offered to drive her home after lacrosse so that Rebecca didn't have to. She counted this day as a win.


	3. Party On, Wayne!

Skyler had spent nearly an hour getting ready. Her hair was curled in loose ringlets and then twisted into a bun on top of her head. She was wearing tight, black leather pants, a black crop top and black leather jacket. She had applied her makeup to perfection, and she was just sitting down slipping on her combat boots. She still had about twenty minutes before Stiles picked her up, so she wandered back into the bathroom, touching up her eyeliner slightly. She took a minute to appreciate just how good the black make up made her green eyes look.

She strolled back out of her room and downstairs. She had the house to herself tonight. For a while at least. Nick had arrived home on Thursday morning and he was going to be gone again by Saturday afternoon, so he and Rebecca had gone out for dinner. She was invited but Skyler would rather be doing just about anything else than watch her father and his girlfriend interact. She wanted to throw herself down on the sofa, but she settled for sitting down gently so as not to fuck up her outfit. Skyler spent the next fifteen minutes vaguely watching a Sons of Anarchy rerun on FX.

The doorbell rang at exactly half seven. She was so excited she practically skipped to the door. Skyler freaking loved parties. She pulled open the door and grinned at the boy standing on her doorstep. He was wearing a blazer, purple shirt and black tie. It was an unspeakably strange combination for a party but it somehow worked perfectly on the hyperactive teen. Skyler had been spending a lot of time with Stiles over the past week and he was rapidly becoming one of her favourite people. They had similar tastes, they shared the same scathing sense of humour. They were both total nerds. The only drawback was that Skyler was falling totally head over heels for Stiles, and Stiles was totally in love with Lydia. Lydia, who was Skyler's new best friend.

"H-hey," he stammered, glancing for a second at her exposed navel, then back up to her visible red bra strap, "You look nice really nice."

"You're not too shabby yourself, Stilinski."

Skyler loved that she had that affect on the boy. She gave him a coy smile and puffed her chest slightly, pushing her breasts out. She stepped out the door, pulling it shut behind her. She checked her to make sure she had her phone and keys, then looked up to see Stiles still watching her chest. She raised an eyebrow and stood there until he noticed that she was watching exactly where his eyes were. He stepped back, clearing his throat and looking at his shoes.

"Right..." Stiles looked back at her, then blushed furiously and had to turn away.

Sky let out a little laugh, and began to follow Stiles towards his car, that was parked at the end of her driveway. She stopped in surprise as she saw the baby blue Jeep stopped on the road.

"Stiles... Where you at the preserve last Sunday night?"

Stiles' eyes flickered towards her's, his face a mask of confusion.

"How did you know I was there?!"

"I passed the entrance to the preserve my first night here, just before I crashed. I was admiring your car," Skyler laughed softly, "Talk about serendipity."

He let out a soft chuckle and jogged ahead of her to open the passenger door. Stiles took her hand and helped her step up into the Jeep. She settled into her seat, taking a deep breath. The Jeep smelled of cinnamon and pine and something else that was distinctly Stiles. He clambered in the driver's side and quickly attempted to throw his lacrosse gear onto the back seat, almost smacking Sky in the head with his gear bag. He shoved his keys into the ignition and turned them several times, the car refusing to start. He shot a few glances her way, chuckling nervously. He managed to get the car started on the fourth or fifth try, eliciting a cheer from both of them.

"So have you ever been to one of Lydia's parties before?" Skyler asked, fiddling with the Batman bracelet around her wrist.

"No," Stiles cleared his throat again, "I've never exactly... well, you know."

"Been invited," she finished for him.

Stiles looked embarrassed and Sky felt like a piece of shit for bringing up the fact that he was not one of the popular kids.

"That's probably because most people there are uppity dickheads," she continued airily, "Such as Jackson and his friends and about ninety percent of the people Lydia surrounds herself with."

She turned to look at him to find him already watching her, a faint smile gracing his features. He didn't reply. He didn't feel a need to. Instead he turned on the radio and tried to find a song they would both like. It seemed impossible, as the only artists the radio stations played were Nicki Minaj and Justin Bieber.

"You can have a look in the glove box for some CDs if you want," Stiles seemed annoyed at the range of music on the radio.

Skyler opened the compartment and began to root though Stiles' music collection. His music taste was near perfect, she would just introduce a bit more classic rock into it, but that could be done over time. She flicked through the cases, occasionally taking a peek at Stiles. He was concentrating on the road so hard that his tongue was poking out of his mouth slightly. Sky wondered casually how his mouth tasted.

"Got it. Can't beat the classics."

She sat up straight again and cracked open the case. She searched for the CD slot for a minute before realising that she had no idea what the layout of this car was.

"Uh, Stiles," she held up the CD and waved it at him slightly, "Where does it go?"

He took his hand off the wheel and plucked the CD from her fingers and slid it into the CD port underneath the volume control. Sky relaxed back into the seat as the opening bars of Semisonic's 'Closing Time' played through the speakers. Stiles began to nod along with the song.

"I love this song."

"Me too," she told him, "You know, it was the first song I learned to play on guitar."

"You can play guitar?" Stiles asked her, an eyebrow quirked.

"Yeah, started when I was five. My mom used to teach me."

Stiles already knew that Skyler's mother was dead. She had told him the day after she met him when he asked why she had moved to Beacon Hills. He hadn't gone through the whole 'I'm so sorry for your loss' bullshit. Instead he had explained how his mother had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and died when he was ten years old. He understood what Skyler went through and told her that she could always come to him if she needed someone.

"I play the drums. We should jam sometime!" Stiles exclaimed, making them both laugh.

"We totally should," Sky agreed excitedly.

Stiles took his hand off the wheel and high fived Skyler as hard as he could. They both sat back, Stiles focus shifted back to the road, and Skyler's focused her attention's on the music. She found herself beginning to sing subconsciously, the way she usually did when she was listening to a song she liked. She heard a faint humming coming from next to her. Stiles was bopping his head to the beat, humming the tune under his breath. She raised her voice slightly, and Stiles matched her, beginning to sing along too. She went louder again, and once more she was matched by the teen sitting next to her. Stiles only seemed to notice that he was singing when they were both screaming it out at the top of their voices. He laughed loudly and continued singing. Skyler rolled down her window and let the fresh air fill her nose. She felt better than she had since she arrived here.

The party was one of the best Sky had ever been to. Lydia's house was huge, the music was loud, there were people everywhere, she had strung fairy lights out the back all around the pool, and best of all, there was a non stop supply of free drink. Skyler had been here about an hour, and had lost Stiles after the first twenty minutes. It was a bad move seeing as he was her ride home, but she had seen her friend Lyla and wanted to talk to her. Now, she was absolutely hammered. She had had about four of these shots called purple nurples and she wasn't just seeing double, she was seeing triple at this point.

"I love this song!" She cried to a stranger with whom she was dancing to a song that she nether knew, nor actually loved.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to face who she thought was Danny, but she couldn't be sure.

"Skyler... Skyler! SKYLER!"

Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling..." Sky tried to sing at him. It ended up sounding something like a cassette tape when the ribbon's gotten tangled.

"Sky, I think you've had enough now."

"I have not had *hiccup* nearly enough, Danny *hiccup* for I am still standing."

She slipped past Danny and wobbled her way over to the drinks table. She plucked two more purple nurples from the tray they sat on and began to shove her way through the crowd to where she though she had seen a flash of blazer and buzzcut. She ran into Stiles by the poolside, not met up with, she literally walked straight into him.

"Whoopsie," Sky giggled, and grabbed at his chest.

"Jesus, Sky. How much have you had to drink?" Stiles took hold of her arms and steadied her.

"Nothing, Stiles. Not a thing," she shoved one of the purple nurples into his face, "Now drink with me."

"Sky, you know I can't. I'm driving you home," he told her gently, pushing her hand down slowly.

"One won't hurt, Stiles! Please," she widened her eyes and jutted her lower lip, "Have a drink with me."

Stiles rolled his eyes and removed one of the shot glasses from her hand.

"I will have one, and only if you promise me that you won't drink anything more."

"I promise Stiles, hand on heart," she placed her hand over her heart, and raised her glass to Stiles, "Party on, Wayne!"

"Party on, Garth!" He replied and tipped back the shot, Sky copying his actions a moment later.

"Holy shit! That's awful," Stiles sputtered and gagged on the mysterious purple liquid.

"You stop tasting it after the third!"

"The third! Skyler, how many have you actually had!?" Stiles was the only thing holding her upright right now.

"That was my fifth," Sky grinned, collapsing forward into Stiles' arms.

"Alright, Sky," Stiles said, hauling her upright, "Coffee time."

Forty five minutes and four cups of strong black coffee later, they were both sitting together on the kitchen worktop and Skyler was leaning her head on Stiles' shoulder. He had his arm around her and was doing his best to soothe her raging headache.

"I'm really, really sorry Stiles. I didn't mean to drink that much."

"It's fine, Sky. I know, those things are very strong.

"I didn't mean to get sick on your shoes either."

Stiles chuckled slightly, then hopped down off the kitchen counter. He wrapped his arms around Skyler's waist and pulled her down with him. She moaned and he led her into the hall, lowering her down on the stairs.

"Just wait here for me, okay? I'm gonna go make sure Scott's okay and then I'll bring you home," he tucked a few loose blonde curls behind her ear.

Sky nodded at him, and curled against the wall, closing her eyes a bit and letting her mind wander. Stiles disappeared back into the kitchen and was swallowed up by the crowds. Sky twisted the ring on her finger, trying to think of anything but the pounding in her head. She pulled the jacket tighter around her and pulled in a deep breath. She had been sitting there for a few minutes when she heard a commotion coming from the kitchen and moving towards the front door

"SCOTT! SCOTTY!"

Scott ran past her first. His head was bent and she could hear his heavy breathing from where she was sitting, a few meters away. He stumbled into the front door, grasping at the handle and wrenching it open. He practically fell into the front garden. Next was Stiles. He was shoving his was through the people hovering in the doorway and the hall. He raced out the open door after Scott and vanished into the dark. Sky pulled herself to her feet, using the banister as a support. She gave herself a few seconds for her body to adjust to being upright again before taking a step forward and immediately colliding with Allison.

"Shit. You okay?" Sky asked, grabbing her friend to steady her.

"I don't know," Allison ran a hand through her hair, looking like she was near tears, "Scott started acting weird and then he just ran off.

"Come on," Skyler took Allison's hand and pulled her outside, "Stiles has gone after him. I'm sure he's just sick or something."

But the front lawn was empty, save for a few couples making out in the bushes. They wandered down the the foot path at the edge of the road. She glanced up and down, still holding tight to Allison and took a step out onto the road. She had just left the pavement when she had to jump back on avoid being mowed down by Scott driving him mom's car haphazardly down the road. She fell back into Allison's arms, and both girls were forced to take a few steps backwards as Stiles sped by in the Jeep.

"What the hell is going on?!" Allison asked, her eyes wide and a look of hurt on her face as she suddenly realised, "Scott was my ride home..."

"And Stiles was mine," Sky finished despondently, "Oh, for fuc-"

"Allison."

They turned. There was a man walking towards them across Lydia's garden. He looked to be in his earl twenties, tall, dark and brooding. He had hazel green eyes and black hair, rough stubble coating the lower half of his face, and Sky could see his muscles underneath his leather jacket. In short, he was sex on legs.

"I'm a friend of Scott's," he told them, sidling up beside them, "My name is Derek."

Allison gave him a weak smile, but moved behind Skyler slightly. And Sky could feel Allison fear radiating off her in waves and from his little smirk, she assumed Derek could sense it too. She wondered if Derek could sense that she wanted to jump his bones.

"Scott wasn't feeling well, he asked me if I could give you a ride home," he smiled wider, probably in an attempt to look less threatening. It didn't work. He just looked like a psychopathic serial killer.

"How do you know Scott?" Allison asked, still not convinced that it was a good idea.

"Old friend of the family," Derek explained, still grinning like a murderer, "I know he only met you on Monday, but he seems to really adore you."

The adoration comment seemed to cement Allison's decision. She stepped forwards, pulling Skyler with her. Even though that guy was one of the sexiest men she had ever encountered, she would still not allow her new friend to leave the party with this man on her own.

"Your friend can come too, if she needs a ride," Derek gestured at Skyler.

"My name is Skyler, " she told him, pulling herself up to her full height (which was quite hard to do in her still semi intoxicated state) and bit her tongue to hold back a comment about the only kind of ride she wanted from Derek.

"Well then, Allison and Skyler," he waved a hand towards a black Camaro, "Shall we."

Skyler stormed forwards, claiming the front seat. If something did go down, she would rather Allison had a better chance of escape. Or maybe the drink had just made her paranoid. She heard Allison settle behind her and saw Derek seat himself behind the driving wheel next to her. The interior of the car was a bit too hot for comfort so Sky slid off her jacket and threw it in the back seat next to Allison.

"So, tell me..." Skyler started as they pulled out onto the road, "Do you make a habit of hanging around teenage girl's parties?"

Derek let out a laugh that sounded more like a bark. He caught Skyler's eye and raised an eyebrow at her. She shrugged, and on impulse, reached for the radio. She felt something warm cover her hand. She looked down in shock to see that Derek had taken hold of her hand and, with a warning look, placed it back in her lap. He was obviously trying to communicate that no one touched his radio.

Skyler could sense the challenge in his gaze, and turned, looking him straight in the eye. She reached down and switched the radio on, and began to flick through the channels, all without breaking eye contact. He raised a single eyebrow as if he could not believe the impudence of the girl sitting in the passenger seat. She finally chose a station and sat back, eyes still locked with the handsome man that was driving the car.

"So, tell me..." Derek parroted her words from a few minutes ago, "Do you make a habit of being annoying?"

Sky laughed, giving him a coy smile.

"I just like this song. It's-"

"David Condos, the song is called 'Like Wolves'. It's good."

She gave Derek a surprised smile, her opinion of him was getting just a tad higher. She suddenly realised with a jolt that Derek hadn't looked at the road since she turned on the radio. She flickered her eyes towards the windscreen of the car, he appeared to understand the gesture and just smirked at her, pressing down harder on the acceleration. She gripped the edge of her seat and fought the temptation to let out a delighted whoop, the adrenaline pumping through her veins as they sped through the narrow streets of Beacon Hills.

"Uh, Derek," Allison murmured tentatively, "My house is the fourth on the right."

Derek didn't even acknowledge her, just continued his staring match with Sky who was grinning like a Cheshire cat. He didn't even slow the car as he took a sharp turn into the driveway of Allison's house and floored the brakes. Skyler didn't look away for a second, just stared into the deep eyes of the man sitting next to her.

"Yeah, um, thanks for the lift Derek," Allison stumbled over her words as she took off her seat belt, "Sky, do you want to stay with me tonight?"

She finally broke away from Derek's mesmerizing gaze to glance over her shoulder at the girl behind her. Allison looked slightly panicked and her eyes seemed to screamed 'I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU'.

"That would be nice, Ally," Sky spoke to her for the first time since they got in the car about fifteen minutes ago.

Allison shot out of the car, looking relieved, while Sky took her time. She swung her legs out of the car, turning her back to face Derek.

"Nice tattoo."

"Yeah, it is," she agreed, and stood, fully out of the car, "I'll see ya around Derek."

Sky shut the door and watched him pull away from the house. Allison took hold of her and tugged her inside, closing the front door behind them. She greeted Allison's mom and her oddly attractive father, (Skyler wondered why everyone in this town was so damn good looking) and headed up to Allison's room. Both girls were exhausted ready to curl up in bed and sleep for a week. They both got changed, making conversation about the party and how weird Scott and Stiles were being. They fell into Allison's bed, facing each other so they could continue to talk.

"What did Derek say when you were getting out of the car?" Allison asked, yawning.

"He told me that he liked my tattoo," Skyler muttered, already half asleep.

"I didn't know you had one. What is it?"

Sky turned around, pulling the back of her borrowed tank top down. ' _Don't Dream It, Just Be It_ ' was written in italics between her shoulder blades.

"That's so deep," Allison sounded slightly in awe.

"Eh, kinda. It's from the Rocky Horror Picture Show," Sky explained, her voice breaking a bit as she said, "It was a sixteenth birthday present from my mom."

She turned back to face Allison, and felt her rubbing her arm soothingly. She smiled, and let the comforting motion lull her to sleep.

After what could have been a few minutes, or several hours later, Sky woke to find Allison climbing back into the bed.

"Where did you go?" Sky's voice was barely above a husky whisper.

"Stiles called over," Allison was muffled as she pressed her face into a pillow, "He wanted to check that we got home safe. He said to tell you that he wants to make it up to you for being a dick by buying you pizza tomorrow."

"Pizza sounds good," she told Allison, but she found herself simply talking to soft snores.

Pizza did sound good, but what sounded better at the moment was a good night's sleep and a serious hangover cure for the morning. She would talk to Stiles tomorrow. Right now, Sky turned onto her front and rested her head on her arms, thinking about her first Beacon Hills party. In minutes, she was asleep.


	4. Lacrosse, Romance and Curly Fries

It was the first game of the season. Nearly everyone in Beacon Hills, students and parents alike, had turned out to watch the game. Skyler sat nervously on the bleachers with Lydia, Allison, sexy Mr Argent, the Sheriff and Miss McCall. She couldn't quite believe how quickly she had become invested in this game since moving to Beacon Hills, it was probably just the intense peer pressure from everyone else in the town to love the game as much as they did. It was a fast game, and could be quite brutal. Just Sky's type of thing, like hurling and rugby.

She was just disappointed that Stiles wasn't getting any time on the field. He was sitting on the bench, chewing his glove anxiously, much as he did during practice. She thought it sweet that Stiles' father attended every game, even though Stiles was never first line. Stiles had done nothing at all this game but watch Scott warily. Sky wondered if he was still sick from the other night at the party. Stiles had brought her out the next day to buy pizza at a greasy diner and tell her that he had to leave early because Scott had been afflicted by a sudden and horrendous bout of food poisoning. Sky had forgiven him just as soon as she had hopped into Derek's car, but the pizza was still appreciated.

There may or may not have been something wrong with Scott, but no one had been given the chance to find out. Under Jackson's instructions, she presumed, none of the players had passed to Scott all throughout the game. To make it even worse, Lydia had made sparkly signs that said things along the lines of 'We Luv U Jackson', and 'Jackson's #1'. The lack of grammar and the incorrect spelling irked Sky, especially when coming from a girl that she knew possessed intelligence that was significantly above average. And just to salt the wound, Allison was holding one side of the sign aloft. Lydia had told Sky to help them, but she had refused point blank.

Another groan from the Beacon Hills side of the supporters, pulling Sky out of her daze. They were losing by even more than they had been a few minutes ago. Skyler buried her face in her hands, it wouldn't bode well for the Beacon Hills lacrosse team if they lost the first game of the season. She could hear Allison chanting quietly next to her.

"Come on, Scott. You can do this. I know you can do this."

Sky could swear she saw Scott's tense, just as if he had heard what Allison had said. His head even tilted slightly, the way a dog does when he hears something interesting. Perhaps as a pure coincidence, the ball rolled free of the scrimmage in the center of the field. Scott seized the first opportunity he'd had in the game, and darted forward, scooping up the ball in his net. He ran, gaining speed, dodging the opposing teams players until he was within scoring distance of the goal. He wound up his arm and let the ball fly, clean into the net.

The roar was tremendous. Everyone seated in the Beacon Hills section of the stands were on their feet, roaring and stamping in delight. The Jackson sign was forgotten and left to flutter to the ground. Lydia, Allison and Skyler were all jumping and screaming, applauding their friend. The game was back in play before the noise from the crowd had died down.

The ball had rolled away from the goal and was almost immediately in the net of a player from the opposite team. He began to run back down the pitch towards the Beacon Hills goal. Scott stepped in front of him, not ran, stepped. No one had seen him run past the player, only appear before him. They stopped, facing each other for about ten seconds. And, to everyone's shock, the player simply passed the ball to Scott. Everyone stared open-mouthed as Scott picked the ball out of the air and jogged off back the direction he had come from. Even the coach looked shocked, asking Stiles for affirmation of what had just happened.

Sky was sitting right on the edge of her seat, ass practically hanging off the bleachers. There were ten seconds left on the clock as Scott lined up his next goal. He flung the ball with deadly speed and precision at the goalie. There was a sickening moment in which Skyler thought it was going to go flying straight into the goalie's net, but no. It went straight through the goalie's net.

The crowd shot to their feet in exaltation. Sky was surrounded by the whoops and cheers of her friends, and she couldn't stop herself from grinning and joining in. She shuffled sideways, trying to get to the steps of the bleachers. She was carried down the steps by the throngs of people flooding onto the pitch. She pushed towards the bench on the Beacon Hills side of the pitch. Stiles was standing by his father looking slightly distressed as the Sheriff spoke on his phone. She slipped through the crowds towards the boy. She tapped him on the shoulder and he spun, flailing his arms like he usually did when surprised. Skyler ducked on instinct, not wanting to get a smack in the face like she had done several times before.

"Congratulations on the win," Sky told him, standing up straight.

She pulled him into a hug before he had the chance to reply. She threw her arms around Stiles' neck and pulled him close. He tensed for a moment then wrapped his arms around Skyler's waist. She rested her head in the crook of his neck and just held him for a moment. He squeezed her waist gently, moving his hands to the small of her back and the space between her shoulder blades. Neither of them moved for what seemed like an eternity. Stiles pulled back when he heard a softly assertive cough. Lydia was standing beside them with a disapproving expression and a quirked eyebrow.

"Where's Allison?" She asked, pursing her lips.

"I think she went to find Scott. Why don't you go find her, Lydia?" She suggested firmly, attempting to insinuate, as strongly as possible, that Lydia should leave so that Sky could go back to hugging Stiles.

"Oh, shit! Scott!" Stiles slapped a hand to his forehead and darted off, presumably in search of his friend.

"Really, Lyds?" Sky turned to her friend, exasperated.

"Really what, Sky?" Lydia replied, she shot Skyler a disbelieving look, "You were just hugging."

"Well yes, but hugging is how it starts, then we could have kissed and then..." she trailed off, linking her arm with Lydia and smirking.

"Then fucking." Lydia finished.

Sky and Lydia locked eyes for a minute then burst out laughing, barely able to stand for the tremors running through their bodies as they laughed until they cried.

"What's so funny?"

Allison's question just set them off laughing again. When they finally managed to calm down, they made their way to the parking lot as Allison regaled them with the story of her first kiss with Scott, and of Stiles' awkward appearance in the locker room afterwards. Allison and Sky sat on the bonnet of Stiles' Jeep but Lydia refused to get her clothes dirty.

"Tonight's not gonna be much fun y'know," Sky commented, twirling her hair around her index finger, "Jackson's gonna be pissed. And when Jackson's moody, everyone's moody."

"Scott just did his best. Jackson can't be mad about that," Allison looked worried, like she thought that Jackson might try to kill him.

"Jackson can be mad at anything he chooses to be mad at, because he's a jackass," Sky leaned backwards, lying against the windshield, watching the starts twinkle above her.

"Watch yourself, that's my boyfriend you're speaking of," Lydia said this, but she honestly sounded like she couldn't give a shit.

"Were you talking about me?" Jackson slunk up to the Jeep, his face was like thunder.

"Just discussing how much we love you, jackass," Sky said as way of greeting, without even looking up.

"Bitch," he snarled at Sky, then wrapped his arm around Lydia and starting making out with her, right in the center of the parking lot.

Sky glanced at them and spotted Stiles and Scott behind Lydia and Jackson. Scott was staring longingly at Allison, and Stiles was watching Lydia with with a wanting expression.. Sky felt a horrible pang in her heart. She hated the way Stiles looked at Lydia, like she was his world. She cleared her throat and hopped off the Jeep.

"So are we going or what?"

The movie was awful. It was one of the most generic romantic comedies Skyler had ever seen, but Lydia and Allison had insisted, and since Jackson and Scott were kept nicely whipped they insisted too. Skyler spent most of the movie attempting to juggle gobstoppers with Stiles. They were sat inbetween the two couples, Scott and Allison on Stiles' right, and Lydia and Jackson on Sky's left. Although that was stupidly fun, Sky nearly thumped Stiles in the head several times. He kept looking across her at Lydia as she stuck her tongue in Jackson's mouth.

"Well that was a waste of seven dollars," Stiles complained as they left the movie theater.

"It was so sweet!" Allison gushed, holding onto Scott's arm and tugging him closer, "The way he gave up everything for the woman he loved!"

"It was bullshit," Sky countered, "He didn't give up everything he had, he left a business meeting. And you know that all of those business men clapped for him and were touched by the beauty of his love. And how un-fucking-believable is it that the plane would happen to how technical difficulties to stall it long enough for him to get to the airport. It was bullshit!"

"Do you have any belief in the magic of love, Sky?" Allison looked like she had just been kicked right in the feels.

"None," Sky replied with a wicked grin, "I'm a heartless monster."

Stiles laughed and slung an arm around her shoulder. The action was so casual but it sent strong shivers racing up and down her spine. He hugged her close for a second and released her again.

"We should have gone to see that new horror movie, what was it called?" Stiles asked.

"I Know What Film You Saw Last Summer," supplied Skyler.

"Horror movies are really going downhill."

"It sounded terrible!" Scott held firm in his resolve. He had refused to pay good money for that movie.

"Well I shouldn't have had to pay good money to see 'My Love Takes Flight'," Skyler glared at Scott jokingly.

"Well I loved it," Allison interjected, staring at Scott expectantly.

"Oh yeah, me too."

Sky and Stiles looked at each other and rolled their eyes simultaneously. Stiles groaned and Sky laughed. Skyler made a whipping sound and flicked her wrist at Scott. They reached the cars laughing and pushing each other gently. Sky felt bad for Lydia, she was walking behind them, trying to cheer Jackson up, or to even get him to speak. He had been brooding ever since they had left the school. He was such a dick.

"I haven't had enough fun for tonight ," Sky decided, clapping her hands, "I'm hungry."

"Always thinking with your stomach, Gray," Stiles teased her, poking her in the ribs.

"Damn right I am, Stilinski," she sassed, placing her hands on her hips, "I could murder some chili cheese fries or curly fries right now. Or both."

"Wendy's?" Stiles asked.

"Wendy's," Sky nodded in return.

Wendy's was their favourite diner. It was the diner they had gone to the day after the party to get pizza. They served the best chili cheese fries and and soda floats in Beacon Hills.

"Anyone else coming?" She wondered aloud.

"No," Jackson snapped, shortly, "We're not."

He turned and stormed off towards his Porsche, hauling Lydia along behind him. She glanced back and gave them a full powered Lydia eye-roll. They shot her sympathetic looks and parting waves. They both knew that it would more than likely be a night of Jackson's angry ranting about Scott, and then an angry bout of sex to make Jackson feel better.

"Yeah, we're in," Scott broke the silence.

"We?" Stiles asked, opening the door of the Jeep.

Allison climbed into the backseat, and pushed herself over to make room. Scott gestured for Skyler to get into the car.

"Uh, excuse you," she smirked, "You can sit in the back. She's your girlfriend, not mine."

The floppy haired teen huffed at her and then slipped into the car much more gracefully than Sky would have expected from such an awkward boy. Skyler threw herself into the front seat, and Stiles shut the door and jogged around to the driver's side. He settled himself beside her and turned on the radio. The 'Semisonic' CD was already in there. 'Closing Time' had become their driving song. As the song started, Sky heard what sounded like kissing noises behind her.

"Oh, gross!" Stiles squirmed in his seat.

"Could you not?!" Sky groaned in protest.

Scott and Allison were making out in the backseat of the Jeep. Stiles and Sky caught each other's eye and pretended to gag. He started the Jeep and backed out of the parking space, the sound of Allison and Scott sucking faces still strong in the background. Both teens sitting in the front of the car rolled down their windows and tried to let the wind drown out their friends in the backseat as they sped along the narrow country roads.

An hour and a half later, Skyler was climbing out of the Jeep in her driveway. Stiles had already dropped Allison and Scott home. She was still laughing as she practically fell out of the door, as she watched Stiles attempt to master the rules of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock.

"So...," Stiles thought for a second, "Lizard decapitates Spock?"

That set her off laughing again. She bent over slightly, hands on knees, tears pouring down her face. She sobered up, standing and drying her eyes.

"Okay, so it goes like this," she looked him dead in the eye, "Scissors cuts paper, paper covers rock, rock crushes lizard, lizard poisons Spock, Spock smashes scissors, scissors decapitates lizard, lizard eats paper, paper disproves Spock, Spock vaporises rock, and, as it always has, rock crushes scissors ."

They managed to look at each other in all seriousness for a moment before breaking out in fits of hysterical laughter. They fell all over place trying to find something to hold themselves upright. Skyler went to lean on the bonnet, ended up misjudging the distance and tripping over her own feet. She felt two strong arms wrap around her and haul her upwards. When she was standing right way up again. She realised how close she was to Stiles. They were roughly the same height, meaning her lips were, at most, two inches away from Stiles mouth. She glanced upwards, seeing that he was looking straight into her eyes. She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth, and stared at Stiles through her lashes. Her heart was racing, nearly jumping out of her chest. She leaned forward and-

"Skyler."

Her dad stood in the open front door. The light from the hallway illuminated his outline. She couldn't see it from here but she knew expression would be disapproving.

"Nick. I didn't know you were home," Sky's voice was icy. She was not in the mood for his bullshit.

"And Mr Stilinski?"

"Yes sir," Stiles replied, letting go of Sky and backing up several steps.

"Well, Skyler needs to come inside now, but you give my best to your father, good night now."

"Night sir," Stiles shuffled awkwardly, refusing to look at Sky, "See ya Skyler."

And with that, he was back in his Jeep and gone. Sky trudged up the driveway towards the door Nick had left open. Once she was inside, she slammed it shut and moved to the sitting room. Nick's suitcase was sitting in the middle of the floor and his papers were scattered all over the table.

"So why were you out with the Sheriff's kid?" He asked from his perch on the arm of the sofa.

"Cause we're friends," Sky responded just as coolly, leaning against the arch that lead from the hall to the sitting room.

"What did you get up to?"

"Well we went-"

A shrill ring interrupted her story. Her dad fished his phone out of his pocket and held it up.

"Gotta take this."

He stood and moved across the room to the door of his office. Once he shut himself in there Sky knew she wouldn't be seeing him until tomorrow at the earliest. She kicked off the wall and went to get herself some toast and a glass of water before heading up to her room to watch some Game of Thrones. She chose a glass at random from the cabinet and filled it up at the sink. Sky turned to find some bread, but instead saw a covered plate resting on the counter with a bit of paper stuck under it. She pulled it out, flipped it over and scanned it quickly.

 _"Dear Skyler,_

 _Hope you enjoyed the lacrosse and the movie. I was baking earlier and thought you might like a little something, your dad told me they were your favourite. Don't eat too many at once._

 _Rebecca."_

She lifted the cover off the plate and her mouth began to water. Rebecca had made her chocolate fudge brownies with peanut butter frosting. She used to buy these all the time in a little bakery down the road from where she had grown up. She had never seen them anywhere else. Skyler felt a pang of guilt run through her. It was sweet of Rebecca to think of her, and Sky would have to make a point to thank her in some way.

Sky collected the plate and her water and scurried upstairs to her room. She dressed in her ratty t-shirt and flannel pants before crawling into bed with her brownies. She powered up her laptop and logged into her Netflix. Before she turned her phone off for the night, Sky decided to text Stiles, hoping to apologise for the awkwardness in her driveway, but when she opened up her messages, she found that she already had one from the brown eyed teen.

 **Stiles - Hey, sorry about when I was leaving. I'm kind of a spaz. I probably shouldn't have hung around and made everything awkward**

 **Stiles - Not that I didn't want to hang put with you but your dad doesn't seem to like me much. I'm rambling now. Sorry. Night, Sky.**

 **Stiles - PS. I challenge you to a rematch of Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock.**

 **Skyler - I had a great time tonight Stiles, don't worry. Night.**

 **Skyler -** **PS. When you play the game of Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock, you win or you die ;)**

Skyler smiled, shutting off her phone. She would talk to him again in the morning. She threw it on her bedside locker, turned off her lamp and shoved a brownie in her mouth. She turned onto her side to face her laptop, curled into the blankets, and pressed play.


	5. Fuck It, Dude Let's Bowl

Skyler, Lydia and Allison strutted into the cafeteria. As usual, Lydia walked in front and Sky and Allison flanked her, listening to her ramblings about clothes and Jackson, and shooting each other looks behind her back. They moved towards the lunch line, people scattering out of their way. Sky disliked the way Lydia treated the people she deemed unworthy of her time but she had to admit that it felt good to have her peers both fear and respect her.

Lydia picked up her pre-made lunch tray and looked towards her usual table. The other girls chatted amicably as they filled their trays. Allison was the type of girl that ate salad, cucumber sandwiches and apple chunks, and drank only water. Skyler, on the other hand filled her plates with fries, a burger, chicken nuggets, a cookie, a cupcake and the strawberry milkshake she had bought on her way to school that day. They paid for their food and joined Lydia.

"We're sitting at a different table today." Lydia announced, with a look of slight disgust on her face, "We're gonna sit with Scott and his twitchy sidekick."

"Really?"

"His name is Stiles."

Both girls spoke at the same time. Lydia rolled her eyes at Sky, she knew full well about Sky's little crush on Stiles. Skyler was nearly a hundred percent sure that Lydia knew the name of everyone in their grade, if not the entire school, and just pretended to forget Stiles' to seem like she was better than him. They made their way towards the table at which Stiles and Scott were in deep discussion. Lydia circled the table, searching for a suitable place to sit.

"We'll figure it out!" Stiles was exclaiming as Lydia slid her tray onto the table and sat on one of the hard plastic chairs. Stiles jumped in shock, his eyes wide as he took in the sight of Lydia Martin sitting across from him. Scott looked just as terrified that the most popular girl in school was sitting beside him.

"Figure what out?" The petite redhead asked, daintily poking a fork into a piece of lettuce.

"Uh... homework," Stiles choked out, like he wasn't sure if what he said was the right answer. Skyler scoffed in disbelief, flopping down next to him. She knew that something strange was going on between Scott and Stiles, they always changed topic rapidly when she turned up, or had dark circles under their eyes but avoided telling her what they spent their nights doing, or refused to discuss their connection with Derek Hale.

"Yeah..." agreed Scott, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Alright, Stilinski?" She raised her eyebrow, and popped a chicken nugget in her mouth.

"Are you sure you have enough to eat, there? You might get a bit hungry?" Stiles glanced at her food.

"Actually, Stiles, I'm still pretty hungry," Sky grabbed a handful of his twisty fires and shoved them all into her mouth at once.

"Get your own damn food, Gray!" Stiles shouted, picking a few of her fires off her plate.

The table began to fill up. Allison sat on the other side of Scott and Danny on the other side of Sky. Jackson and Danny's friends Jessica and Zach took the last two seats at either end of the table.

"Um, why are you guys sitting with us?" Stiles whispered in her ear. His proximity made her tense up and shudder slightly. She loved the feel of his breath on her skin. Sky then realised that that was super creepy as hell.

"Because Lydia had a moment of overwhelming devotion to her friends and wanted to get to know Ally's new boyfriend and my new friend," Sky explained. She cracked open her milkshake and took a few gulps. Stiles hand closed over hers for a second as he grabbed the bottle and took a long swallow of the drink. Skyler had to stop herself choking at the sudden contact of their skin.

"Get up." Jackson was standing over Zach and glaring at him. He had his hand on the back of Zack's chair and had pulled it out from the table.

"How come you never ask Danny to get up?" Zach grumbled, but he still stood. Sky huffed and rolled her eyes, disgusted at the blind obedience that Jackson's followers showed him.

"Because I don't stare at his girlfriend's coin slot," Danny smirked, taking a bite of his apple. Sky laughed lowly, ducking her head, while Lydia smiled at him. Allison, however, look scandalised. Zach turned, almost sulkily, and left the table. Jackson quickly occupied the seat his friend had just vacated. His girlfriend wasted no time shoving her tongue down his throat. Allison and Scott weren't making out, but they were staring into each other's eyes lovingly, which was almost as bad. Sky turned to Stiles to roll her eyes and found him watching Lydia with a defeated expression on his face. She turned back to the table, her mood sufficiently dampened.

"So, I heard it was some kind of animal attack," Danny broke the silence, lovely little social butterfly that he was, "Probably a cougar." Everyone winced at the reminder of the carnage on the bus that morning.

"I heard it was a mountain lion," added Jackson.

"A cougar is a mountain lion," Lydia snapped. Jackson stared at her in an almost angry confusion. "Isn't it?" She raised her voice, and pouted a bit.

"Careful Lydia," Skyler interjected, not sure if she was mad that Lydia was hiding her well above average IQ, or a bit amused, "Your intelligence is showing."

"Who cares?" Jackson scoffed, his usual arrogant expression back on his face, "He was probably just some homeless tweaker who was gonna die anyway."

"As usual Jackson, you overwhelming compassion fucking astounds me," Skyler snarled, clenching her fist tight around her fork, longing to drive it into Jackson's hand.

"Actually, I found out who it is," Stiles held out his phone for the occupants of the table to gather round, "Check it out."

It was a video of a journalist standing by the school, the bloodied bus in the background.

"The sheriff's department won't speculate on the details of the incident, but confirmed that the victim, Garrison Meyers, did survive at the attack. Meyers was taken to a local hospital where he remains in critical condition."

Everyone sat back, a bit stunned by what they had just seen. It had happened not fifty feet from the door of their school.

"Wait!" Everyone stared at Scott anticipation, "I know this guy!"

"You do?" Allison looked shocked at the idea of Scott knowing a man that was attacked. Like he might be attacked purely because of his association with the man.

"Yeah," Scott looked distressed, "Back when I used to take the bus when I lived with my dad. He was the driver."

"Can we talk about something more fun please. Like..." Lydia tossed her hair and pursed her lips. She looked over at Allison, "Oh! Where are we going tomorrow night? You said that you and Scott were hanging out tomorrow night."

Skyler had to bite her lip to stop herself laughing. She felt bad for Allison and Scott. All they wanted was a date, instead they got Jackson and Lydia 'hanging out' with them. This time, when she glanced at Stiles, he was looking back at her with an expression that she assumed was identical to her own. A kind of amused pity.

"This cannot end well," she muttered under her breath to the boy next to her.

"Scott won't have the balls to say that they can't go," Sky could hear the smirk in his voice.

"And Ally is much too kind," she shot back.

"Oh, um," Allison glanced at Scott, as if hoping for him to find an excuse to keep Lydia and Jackson from joining them, "We haven't decided what we were going to do."

Stiles and Skyler had to stop themselves from giggling. It was like watching a train wreck unfold in front of them. Lydia was too demanding and Scott and Allison were just too polite. Jackson sat in sulky silence at the head of the table, watching the proceedings like a petulant child.

"Well, I am not sitting at home watching lacrosse videos again," Lydia insisted in her chirpy tone, "So if the five of us are hanging out tomorrow night we are going to do something fun."

Scott raised his eyebrows and stared at Allison. "Hanging out?" He asked, "Like the five of us? Do you want to hang out? Like us and..." Scott's voice was nearly shaking as he glanced at Lydia and Jackson,"...them?"

"Yeah, I guess," Allison's voice was as unsure as Scott's, "It sounds fun. Wait, what do you mean five?" Allison looked confusedly at her red haired friend.

"You, me, Jackson, Scott and Sky."

Skyler choked on the burger that she had stuffed into her mouth. She heard Stiles let out a laugh which he quickly turned into a cough when she elbowed him hard in the ribs. He shot her a look that clearly meant he found this revelation hilarious and he was going to laugh at her pain.

"Uh, no," she told Lydia. She tried to use her tone to tell Lydia to drop the subject and that she had no intention whatsoever of being a fifth wheel.

"Uh, not a choice, sweetie," Lydia smiled at her as if she were a bit slow.

"I am NOT being a fifth wheel," she moaned, "I don't want to go." Sky stuck out her lower lip, making it tremble.

"Well, we can make you a sixth wheel, you need a date."

This time, Sky hadn't had anything in her mouth, which was probably good because she would have spat it all over the table in shock. Stiles didn't laugh this time, instead he tensed a fraction. Like the turn the conversation had taken was making him uncomfortable.

"You know what else sounds fun," Jackson spat out, "Stabbing myself in the face with this fork."

"Please, allow me," Sky lunged across the table, thrusting her fork at Jackson's face. The jock had to jump back to avoid being stabbed by the plastic item of cutlery.

"How about bowling?" Lydia asked, ignoring her friend's attempt to stab her boyfriend in the cheek. "You love to bowl."

"Yeah," Jackson snorted, his voice condescending like he was talking to a child, "With actual competition."

"How do you know we're not actual competition?" Allison asked, her voice coy and an eyebrow raised. If Skyler hadn't know better, she would have said that Ally was flirting with Jackson. She turned to Scott, "You can bowl, right?"

Scott immediately looked to Stiles in horror. She could tell that Stiles was no more sympathetic to Scott's plight than he had been to her's.

"Sort of," Scott muttered, shrugging when he realised that Stiles wasn't going to help in any way.

"Is it a 'sort of' or a 'yes'?" Jackson was getting more aggressive at this point, trying to goad Scott into doing something stupid.

Scott steeled himself, looking Jackson straight in the eye. He tensed in anger, not wanting to be shown up in front of Allison. He rolled his shoulders back, and pulled himself to his full height, "Yes. In fact, I'm a great bowler."

Skyler heard Stiles groan beside her and saw him drop his head into his hands. Scott was obviously not a good bowler, but Sky was still preoccupied with Lydia's plan for her date.

"Uh, back to me for a minute," Sky waved her hand at Lydia, and then banged it gently on the table, "I am still not going! And I do not want to go on a date!"

"You need to actually need to put yourself out there," Lydia told her, taking no notice of the red flush of embarrassment that had covered Sky's face, "Not just pine over someone you've known for a week and a half."

For some reason, Stiles definitely tensed at Lydia's words. He moved away until he wasn't touching Skyler anymore. Their legs weren't pressed against each other, their arms weren't bumping each other gently, they weren't playing with each other's fingers the way they did whenever they sat close to each other. Sky felt suddenly cold at the loss of contact.

"Zach likes you, we'll invite him."

"Well I don't want to go with Zach!" Sky exclaimed. It wasn't that Sky didn't like Zach, he was a nice guy, even if he was one of Jackson's followers. It was just that she liked Stiles more.

"He's hot, and he has a nice car. What more do you want?" Sky could tell that Lydia was getting exasperated, "Well you can choose or you can turn up tomorrow to a lovely surprise."

"Stiles can come," Skyler blurted out.

"I what?!"

Stiles was stunned into silence. His mouth hung open and he stared at Skyler in horrified bewilderment as if she had just personally offended him and his family. She shot him a pleading look as the whole table watched on, wondering what was going to happen next. She saw that he wasn't going to fall for that and decided to opt for a different tactic.

"You scared I'm gonna kick your ass?" She asked. She ducked her head and looked up at him through her lashes, pulling her bottom lip into her mouth.

"N-no," Stiles stuttered, glancing at her mouth. "I'm just... I don't want to."

"Worried you can't handle my balls," Sky pouted at him and gave him a sultry look, running her hand up his arm.

"I can, uh," Stiles trailed off, flustered at the attention she was giving him. "I can definitely handle your balls. I just don't know if you can handle mine."

He seemed to realise what he said as he a few people around the table gave a snort of laughter. He blushed deeply and drew back from her. She followed, leaning into him, whispering in his ear.

"I would love to get to now your balls a bit better, Stilinski. If I have suffer through this, you can suffer along with me," Sky sat back in her chair. Lydia was watching he with a kind of delightful appreciation, Allison looked like she was going to break into a fit of giggles.

"Wait," Stiles came to his senses as she gave him a bit of personal space again, "I didn't agree to go..."

"I'll meet you at the bowling alley tomorrow then," Sky spoke over him as she stood to dump the trash on her tray into the bin. She wanted to go to her locker and get her art portfolio before class. Allison gave Scott a quick kiss on the cheek and an apologetic look before hurrying after Sky. Both Stiles and Scott quickly vacated the table after the girls left, so as not to be on their own with Lydia and Jackson. They followed the two girls out of the cafeteria at a short distance, and as they walked, Sky could swear she heard Stiles mutter under his breath, "Scott, you're a terrible bowler!" She smirked. Tomorrow would be fun.


	6. Bite Me, I Can Bowl

Allison stood at her wardrobe, rifling hurriedly through her clothes. Lydia was perched on the edge of her bed, her legs crossed elegantly, watching the dark haired girl with a bored expression. Skyler lay on her back on the bed, playing with the end of Lydia's long red waves. The two girls on the bed were already made up and dressed, Lydia in tight jeans, with a light blue blouse and dark navy sweater and her hair in long wavy strands, and Sky in a a black skater skirt with a baggy wine coloured sweater and black Converse, her hair in a messy braided bun. Allison still hadn't decided what to wear, or if she was going to do her hair, or anything of the sort.

"Hmm, pass," Lydia said as Allison held up a shirt. She placed it back into the wardrobe and pulled out another, "Pass. Let me see." She stood, moving to Allison's closet and flicking through the tops quickly. "Pass, pass, pass... Allison, my respect for your taste dwindles every second." She paused, tugging a sequined shirt off of a hanger and holding it up to Allison. "This."

Allison took the shirt and smiled at Lydia as the door to her room opened. Skyler's head snapped up. Mr Argent wandered into the room. He stopped a few steps in, still holding the door handle.

"Dad," Allison's tone conveyed her annoyance, her mouth was pursed and her eyebrows pulled in slightly, "Hi."

"Right, I'm sorry," he smiled tightly, looking around as if being in the room made him uncomfortable, "Completely forgot to knock."

Lydia threw herself on the bed in the most subtly seductive position she could manage. Skyler lay back, raising one arm over her head and stretching out her long legs, crossing them at the ankle. Allison rolled her eyes at the girls, she hated the way they both shamelessly flirted at her father. Sky even winked at him. "Hey Mister Argent," they chorused.

"Dad, do you need something?" Allison cut them off, giving them a gentle glare before returning her attention to her father.

"I wanted to tell you that you were staying in tonight," Mr Argent avoided looking at the girls lying sprawled on the bed as elegantly as possible.

"What? I'm going out with my friends tonight!"

"No," her father insisted, "There's some animal out there attacking people." He was using his parenting voice, It was the one Skyler's mother had used when she caught Sky clambering in her bedroom window steaming drunk when she was fifteen.

"Dad..." Allison didn't even finish her complaint, just balled up her top and threw it on the bed by Skyler's legs. She knew that her father had made his mind up at this point that she was not going out.

"There's a curfew, no one out past nine thirty," he tried to reason with Allison, rationalise his decision. "No more arguing." He left the room just as suddenly as he had entered, leaving the three girls slightly slumped in defeat.

"Someone's Daddy's little girl," Lydia singsonged, sitting upright on the bed.

"Sometimes," Allison shot back, her eyes steely, "But not tonight." The dark haired girl moved over to the window, pulling on a beanie as she went. She opened the latch and pushed the window up, sliding her body through the opening. The other two girls followed her, watching as she walked to the edge of the roof.

"What are you doing?" Lydia asked, sounding nearly apprehensive.

Allison replied my standing for a moment on the edge of the roof and then front flipping onto the grass of the lawn. Skyler smirked down at Ally, Lydia simply watched her with a shocked admiration. She grinned up at the girls, her self-satisfied smirk was surprisingly not obnoxious like it would be in other people. Allison was so humble that it was fun to see her take pride in herself.

"Eight years of gymnastics," she whispered, throwing a thumb over her shoulder, "You coming?"

"We'll take the stairs, Skyler grinned at her friend, she could feel Allison's excitement at the prospect of a date with Scott, even if it was a group date. "I think your parents will get suspicious if no one descends the stairs, but the room is still empty when they come upstairs. Be out in a minute."

Skyler shut the window quietly and took Lydia's hand, dragging her to the door. She had begun to look forward to the bowling trip over the last day and a half. Stiles, Lydia and Allison were basically her closest friends and Scott was really starting to grow on her. She had to dislike him a bit after he left Allison at Lydia's party, but that was just friendly solidarity. The only real downside to the evening was Jackson. He was a dick.

The two girls reached the bottom of the stairs, passing Mr Argent as they hurried to the door.

"Straight home for you two, I'm hoping," he called after them.

"Sure, Mister Argent," Sky shouted back over her shoulder, "Bye, sir."

The two teens tumbled onto the drive, Allison was already waiting by Skyler's car, which she had gotten back from the mechanic the day after the party. Sky unlocked the car, Allison slipped into the backseat, keeping low and Lydia sat gingerly on the passenger seat, acting like the heavy metal albums, books and empty Reese's Pieces packets could pass on some horrible disease.

"You alright there, Lyds?" Sky snorted in amusement,

"Your car is disgusting," Lydia picked up a CD by 'The Darkness' and flicked it onto the ground.

"My car," she responded, turning the keys in the ignition , "Has character."

They arrived at the bowling alley a few minutes late. She could see Scott and Stiles standing by the Jeep, and Jackson standing by his Porsche, already sulking. All three girls exited the car at the same time, drawing the attention of the boys. Stiles eyes flickered to Lydia for a moment, then over to Skyler with a smile that faltered as he took in her attire. He gaped open-mouthed at her, it was probably the first time he had seen this much of her skin on display. She stopped a few feet away from him. Allison walked past her and immediately latched her mouth to Scott's, Lydia doing the same to Jackson on the other side.

"Hi, Sky," Stiles kept his eyes on the bottom of her thigh that was displayed by the skirt, "You look legly. Lovely! I meant LOVEly."

Skyer laughed, glad that she had waxed before her legs before leaving her house tonight. "You look legly too, Stiles." She told him, her face splitting into a wide grin.

"Shall we?" He stepped to the side, waving his arm to usher her inside.

She curtsied at him, and skipped merrily by him, pinching Scott's ass on the way inside. She smirked and Stiles chuckled as they heard Scott give a terrified squeaking sound.

Five minutes later, they sat by their chosen lane, preparing for the game. Allison was standing by the ball dispenser, picking up each ball as they emerged, weighing them in an almost expert fashion. Jackson was standing behind Lydia, vertically spooning her as he showed her how to throw the ball correctly.

Skyler and Stiles were arguing good-naturedly about who truely deserved the Iron Throne. "Daenerys is the trueborn heir to the Iron Throne, her father was the king."

"Yeah, the Mad King," Stiles shot back, "That was mad, hence the name. And he was beaten by King Robert. That shows he wasn't worthy, and seeing as Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella aren't even his kids, the throne should go to his brother, Stannis the Mannis."

"King Robert did NOT beat Aerys, Jaime Lannister did. So, does that mean Jaime is worthy of the Iron Throne?" Sky raised an eyebrow. "And Stannis is so not the mannis. He had the sexy times with Melisandre and they made a creepy ass shadow baby."

"Fair point, but... But..." Stiles paused to think for a second.

"You can't think of a counter argument, can you!?" Skyler exclaimed, dancing a bit in her seat. "And Daenerys has dragons!"

"Alright, alright," Stiles nudges her in the side with his elbow, grinning like a child even though he had just lost an argument.

"Wait, wait, wait," Skyler held up a hand, making Stiles furrow his eyebrows in confusion. "Can you smell that?"

"Smell what?"

Sky sniffed the air dramatically. "Me achrae athnajaharoon."

All she got in return was a facial expression that clearly asked 'what-the-hell'. She rolled her eyes, huffing jokingly at the look on her friend's face. "It's Dothraki for 'smells like victory'."

Stiles stared at her in silence for a few seconds before speaking. "You are such a nerd."

They burst out laughing at the same time, falling into each other. They only broke apart when they heard a interrupting cough, reminiscent of Dolores Umbridge. Lydia was standing over them, a disapproving pout on her face.

"If you two are quite finished? We're starting."

They sat up straight, watching as Lydia moved to take her first turn. Both of them were trying to calm themselves down after laughing so hard, Sky still hiccuping gently. She felt a warm pressure on her hand as Lydia lined up the ball, Jackson standing behind her, showing her how to bowl. Stiles had reached down, seemingly without even noticing, and had begun to play with the index finger of her left hand. She smiled widely as she felt him curl the finger in and then pull it back slightly.

Skyler looked up as she heard a girlish groan of disappointment. Lydia had only managed to knock down three pins, even with the, no doubt, expert help of her boyfriend.

"Oh," Lydia moaned, sticking out her bottom lip and breasts at the same time, pushing herself against Jackson's chest. "I'm so bad at this."

"You're up Jackson," Sky called, not wanting to witness anymore of Lydia and Jackson's horrific display of coupley-ness.

Jackson hit a strike. Allison also hit a strike. Sky wasn't surprised, even the way Allison had held herself when choosing her ball showed that she was serious about the game.

"You're up McCall." Jackson and Lydia's heads both swiveled around in perfect unison to give Scott a challenging look. It was actually really scary.

Scott stood, looking very unsure. Allison shot him a reassuring smile that seemed to do nothing to steady the floppy haired teen's nerves. Sky looked over at Stiles, he was wearing an almost amused grimace on his face. She tried to suppress the laugh bubbling up in her throat. Scott chose a ball and stood at the 'Do Not Cross' line of their lane.

"You can do it, Scott!" Allison called as gently as possible.

Scott took a deep breath, drew his arm back, then snapped it forward again, letting the bowling ball fly. Skyler could tell from the second that he let go, that the ball was going straight for the gutter. She didn't claim to be a pro at bowling, but she used to go to the bowling alley at least once a week with her friends in Kansas. She groaned internally the second the ball hit the gutter, the smile slipping off both her and Stiles' faces. She heard the all too familiar sound of Jackson's haughty laugh.

"Jackson!" Sky was surprised by the venom in Allison's voice. "You mind shutting up?"

Sky had to agree with her. He was being a dickhead. Scott had obviously over exaggerated his bowling abilities to impress his new girlfriend, and Skyler really felt for him. She would've claim to be a fucking rocket scientist if it meant that, for a moment, Stiles would look at her the same way he looked at Lydia. She realised how pathetic that was, but she also didn't care very much.

"I'm sorry," Jackson managed to force out between gales of laughter, "I'm just flashing back to the words 'I'm a great bowler'."

"Maybe he just needs a little warm up," Allison snapped back, the usually sweet girl was starting to lose her temper.

"Yeah, maybe he needs the kiddie bumpers," Jackson laughed again, Lydia joining in this time. Skyler rolled her eyes aggressively at her friend. She knew that Lydia was loyal to her boyfriend, but would it kill her to have a little empathy with Scott in this situation. The boy in question was standing, ready to take his next turn. His face was a bright red that indicated that he heard exactly what Jackson had been saying about him.

"Just aim for the middle," Allison tried to sound jokey as she imparted her admittedly useless advice. If Scott could aim for the middle, he would have done so already.

"Oh, God," Stiles groaned, burying his face in his hands. This was going to be stomach churningly embarrassing.

"How about you just aim for something else other than the gutter."

"Shut up, jackass." Sky practically snarled, making Stiles jump a small bit, sliding away from her in what looked like a mixture of fear and admiration. Jackson stared at her in shock, not even composed enough to shoot back a clever retort. "Your go, Scott."

He dragged up an unsure smile, then turned to face the lane. Just like last time, he wound up and let the ball go with enough force to nearly make a dent in the bowling lane. She heard Scott whisper to himself gently as the ball slid further and further to the side, eventually ending up in the gutter again. There was a collective groan from Scott, Allison, Stiles and Sky and a self-satisfied snort from Jackson.

"Oh, great job McCall," he was trying to calm himself down, fighting the laughter. "Man, you are a pro."

Scott trudged back over to the seating area and threw himself down next to Allison. He gave her an apologetic smile that threatened to slip off his face at any second. He glanced over Skyler's shoulder at Stiles who nodded his encouragement and reached over Sky to pat his best friend on the shoulder.

"Don't worry," Allison murmured to her boyfriend as Sky stood to take her turn, "We just started."

Sky hit a spare. Seven on her first attempt, and the remaining three on her second. It wasn't the best, but it certainly wasn't the worst and she was inwardly thankful for that. Even if it was selfish and rather bitchy, she was a tiny bit happy that someone was doing a bit worse than her. She really did want to impress her new friends. Well, one or two of them at least. Skyler acted like she didn't give a shit what anyone said, but deep down she really did want people to like her.

Stiles hit a strike. It looked like he didn't even bother trying. She wondered if he had an above average talent at bowling to make up for his lack of skills when it came to lacrosse.

"That was pretty damn impressive," Sky grinned at Stiles as he sat down next to her.

"Thanks," he smiled back shyly, "I spend all of my free time bowling. It's like my superpower."

"Like in 'Misfits'?" She asked, pulling at the drawstring of his hoodie.

"Exactly, I'd be Nathan." He looked pleased for a second, and then his face dropped. "Well, I wouldn't- I would be less of..., uh, I wouldn't be a pervert!" He practically shouted the last part of the sentence, drawing the attention of several people nearby.

"I think you'd actually be more of a Simon," Skyler tried to bite back her laughter, "But more outgoing, and less starey."

Stiles laughed, and then tried to do his best impression of Simon, which just made him look both terrified and constipated. Sky cracked up as he looked deep into her eyes, making Stiles break out laughing too as the others took their turns bowling. Lydia was doing no better, even with Jackson's assistance, Jackson, Allison and Stiles were still going strong, Skyler was doing an average job and Scott had managed to knock down two pins in the first three rounds.

Scott stood up again, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else in the world but right here. This time, Allison stood up with him, holding his hand and moving towards the ball dispenser and pulling him to his usual bowling spot. Skyler watched as Allison whispered in his ear. Out of the corner of her eye, Sky could see Stiles throwing Skittles into the air and trying to catch them with his mouth. Lydia was aggressively ramming her tongue into Jackson's mouth as Jackson watched Scott and Allison over Lydia's shoulder.

Allison kept conversing with Scott for nearly a minute, before standing on her tip-toes and muttering gently into his ear. He tensed as she turned and skipped away, back to sit by Sky and Lydia.

"What did you say to him?" Lydia asked, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

"Um, I just gave him something to think about," The dark haired girl responded coyly.

Scott hit a strike. And another. And another. And another. And another. And another.

"That is seriously amazing," Allison exclaimed, watching her boyfriend, her face filled with adoration. "Jackson, how many strikes is that?"

"That's six." Jackson growled, sounding almost animalistic in his rage. "In a row."

"It somehow just clicked, I guess." Scott was smiling up at Allison, his eyes were wide and his mouth hanging a bit open as he gazed at her. It made Skyler feel a bit sick. Well, sick and jealous. She wanted someone to look at her like that, specifically an ADHD ridden, pale, spazzy teen that had just sat back down beside her after hitting another strike. They fist bumped, blowing it up, and Stiles even made an explosion sound.

"Maybe it's a natural talent," Allison smirked, running her hand up Scott's arm possessively.

"I could use a natural talent," Lydia uncrossed her legs, standing so that she was seriously invading Scott's personal space and biting her lip as seductively as she could manage. "You mind helping me this time?"

Skyler sat up straight, stunned that Lydia would be such a bitch. She was shamelessly flirting with her best friend's boyfriend right in front of her, and in front of her own boyfriend too. Sky cleared her throat loudly, catching Lydia's eye and glaring at her. Her redheaded friend just smirked and turned back to Scott, looking at him expectantly.

"Uh... No! You're good!" He nearly shouted at her, moving closer to Allison as if for protection. "Go for it."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Lydia's voice was icy, like she was irritated that a boy she had ignored for sixteen years was not immediately jumping to help her the second she bit her lip and shoved her breasts out.

"I'll help," Jackson jumped up, desperate to assert his Alpha male status for the first time since Scott started to kick everyone's ass at the game.

"How about if I try this one on my own?"

Lydia spun, cocking her hip as she observed the the pins. She strode forward purposefully, and rolled the ball. It was going to hit the pins dead center. Un-fucking-believable. Lydia was pretending to suck to make Jackson feel good about himself, and when Jackson wasn't the winner anymore, she decided to stop fanning his ego. Allison and Skyler looked at each other in astonishment, both obviously arriving at the same conclusion. Lydia had hit a strike.

She turned around, a self-satisfied smile on her face. "I think I'm getting the hang of this thing." She flounced back over, the eyes of all three boys following her. She lowered herself daintily into the seat between Allison and Skyler.

"That was sort of perfect form." Allison whispered to the strawberry blonde.

"Was it?"

"You know, you can stop pretending to suck just for his benefit." Both girls were smirking at Lydia now. That was why Skyler liked Allison and Lydia, they didn't take any bullshit.

"Oh, trust me," Lydia had a superior grin on her face, "I do plenty of sucking just for his benefit."

"And that was a mental image I really did not need in my head," Skyler slapped her hands on her knees, pushing herself up,"I'm gonna go get a Coke and pretend I never heard that."

Scott had won and Stiles had come second. Jackson was pretty damn furious about this, and stormed off to the arcade section moments after their board had displayed the final results. He was currently playing on the pinball machine as Scott hovered near him. Sky wasn't quite sure why. It's not like they were friends or anything. Allison and Lydia were sat at a table, probably comparing their sex lives or something else women folk discuss. Skyler was perched on a stool next to Stiles, both of them drinking red slushies.

"So, where did that incredible talent for bowling come from, Stilinski?" Sky narrowed her eyes and sucked some icy deliciousness into her mouth. "Are you secretly part of the MI5 bowling division or something?"

"Yup," Stiles popped the 'P' and pretending to shoot her with his finger, "I'm the James frickin' Bond of bowling." He winked at her and leaned backwards, trying to look cool and casual. His elbow extended to lean on the counter, but the boy had obviously misjudged the distance between his arm and the surface behind him, and fell backwards off the stool, only just managing to keep himself from falling by grabbing the sleeve of Skyler's sweater and dragging her with him.

She began to laugh, something that was becoming near constant around Stiles. He matched her laugh with his awkward head-ducking, half laugh half smile. It was like he was embarrassed to have made Skyler laugh. She only noticed after about a minute that Stiles had gone quiet. She looked up and saw that he was watching what looked like an incredibly tense conversation between Scott and Jackson. Why the hell were they even talking? They didn't like each other, and Sky was fairly sure that neither of them had anything positive to say to the other.

"What's that about?" Sky was curious. Stiles turned to face her, his features were scrunched into a mask of confusion.

"I don't know," he seemed to be reluctant to admit this. "But I think Scott should stay away from him." Skyler wasn't sure what he meant. Did he actually think that Jackson might hurt Scott? Or just that Jackson was a dick?

"Yeah, I guess," she agreed, biting her lip. This conversation had taken an odd turn, and it was obvious that it was making both of them uncomfortable. She tried to diffuse the tension with an offhand comment. "At least he's hot."

"He's hot?" Stiles pursed his lips, his body tensed like a coiled spring. Skyler wondered if she had said the wrong thing, but couldn't think of why what she had said would piss him off.

"Why are you friends with him?" Stiles sounded like she had personally offended him in some way.

"I'm not really," Sky tapped her index finger off of the slushie cup, she wasn't sure how she felt about the way he had said that. It felt accusatory. "I mean, sure he can be a dick, but he's Lydia's boyfriend and I'm gonna have to be around him quite a bit. I try not to bicker with him. And he can be alright sometimes."

"But he's constantly a dick!" Stiles voice raised suddenly, glaring at her like she had done him a great wrong. Skyler jumped a bit, shocked that he would talk to her like that. "He's arrogant, and he treats people like shit and he acts like he's better than everyone! And he checks you out! He's always staring at you when you or Lydia aren't looking! He's a dick, Sky!" She ducked to avoid his flailing arms.

"What the hell is the matter with you?! He's not a bad person deep down," Skyler snapped. The evening had been pretty good up until Stiles had inexplicably lost his temper. "But yeah, he is arrogant, and he does treat people like shit and he does think he's better than others! I never said he didn't act like that!"

"Then why do you like him?!"

"Why do you like Lydia?!"

Skyler hadn't bothered correcting him about liking Jackson, she was too pissed. What the fuck was wrong with him?! They were both standing now, practically toe to toe both irrationally angry.

"She acts the exact fucking same!" Sky was the first to talk again, she could feel a warm prickling sensation at the back of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. It was such a stupid thing to cry over. Her and Stiles were having a silly fight over nothing, she needed to get over herself. "So, why do you like her so much!?"

"She's not actually like that! She's smart, I know she is! And she can be nice, otherwise, why would you be friends with her?!" Stiles stumbled over his words. "I understand that she's not a total bitch, I've liked her since third grade!"

"Well, maybe you should get over yourself, and her," Skyler tried to draw herself up to her full height, but she was still shorter than Stiles, "'Cause that's really pathetic, and so are you."

Skyler turned and walked away from the shocked teen. She regretted what she had said the moment it had passed her lips, but she was too hurt and full of pride to turn back and apologise. She felt the tears begin to slip down her face. The way he talked about Lydia made her sick to her stomach, it made her want to scream and cry and hit things. She knew she would have to make up with him at some point, but right now she wanted to go home and eat chocolate fudge peanut butter brownies.

She brushed past Scott, who tried to grab her arm but she shook him off. He yelled after her, and even Jackson tentatively called her name. She sped by the two girls, avoiding their worried looks and hug-ready arms.

"I gotta go," she muttered as she side stepped them, "I feel like shit. I'll see you tomorrow."

Once she hit the parking lot, Skyler broke into a run. She just wanted the familiar warmth of her bed and a hug from her mom. Sadly, only one of those things was possible. She sat in her car for a few moments, sobbing against the steering wheel. Stiles probably hated her now. How could she have said that to him? She was such a bitch. She cried the entire drive home, her tears obscuring her vision several times, nearly causing her to crash her car for the second time in two weeks.

Her father's car wasn't in the driveway when she arrived home, but Rebecca's silver Hummer was. The door was unlocked and she stumbled in, still trying to dry her eyes. All she had managed to do was smear mascara across her face.

"Skyler? Is that you?"

"Yeah," Sky tried to make her voice sound light and airy, but it just shook with repressed tears. "I'm home."

"Honey, are you okay?" Rebecca stepped out into the hall, her eyes widening in shock when she saw Skyler's tears stained face.

Skyler was almost terrified at how comforted she felt when Rebecca called her honey. She took a few steps forward, stopping just out of reach of Rebecca.

"Sky," her voice was gentle, like she was talking to a wounded animal. "What happened?"

Skyler crossed the distance between them, hugging her father's girlfriend for the first time since she had met her. Skyler's head fitted neatly under Rebecca's chin. They stood in the hallway, hugging and crying. When they finally pulled apart, Rebecca looked straight into Skyler's eyes.

"Now you don't have to tell me what's wrong, but I am going to go into the kitchen and make some brownies, chocolate fudge with peanut butter frosting, and you are going to go to your room, get into your pyjamas, bring down some blankets, go into the living room and set up 'Starter For Ten'."

Skyler stared at Rebecca in surprise for a second before nodding mutely and heading towards the stairs. She paused, her foot resting on the first step. She bit her lip for a few moments, contemplating whether or not to turn around. She pivoted, turning to face Rebecca's back as she entered the kitchen, slipping an apron over her head.

"Rebecca," Skyler called after the older woman. She turned back, an eyebrow raised and a soft smile on her face. "Thanks. For everything."

"You're welcome, sweetie." Rebecca's smile wasn't motherly, it was more sisterly, or like a friend. "Now go on. Get ready."

Skyler checked her phone as she climbed the stairs. Stiles hadn't texted, he was obviously mad at her and had every right to be. She had fucked up, and she knew it. She would be the bigger man and text him first, apologise to him. She **would** text him first. But she would do it tomorrow.


	7. Bitch Fight

_**Hey, quick AN just to say thanks to everyone that took the time to Review, Favourite or Follow. I really appreciate it! This is Stiles POV for the bowling alley chapter. Hope you enjoy Xx**_

Stiles' fists were clenched tightly around the steering wheel. He had to give both Allison and Scott a ride home because Melissa had refused to let Scott borrow the car. He could just about hear them in the back seat, giggling and whispering what he assumed were sweet nothings in each other's ears. He was much too busy to take any notice of their disgusting relationship, his mind was occupied by Skyler, and only Skyler.

He felt like shit. He had made her cry. He had made her fucking cry. Do you know what it's like to see a girl cry? Not very nice. And knowing that it was your fault that said girl was crying? A thousand times worse. The night had started out so well, too. The prospect of spending a night with the horrifically loved-up pairing of Allison and Scott, his longtime crush, and her dickhead of a boyfriend. The only high point of the night was that Skyler was also going to be there. Since Scott had become a werewolf and she had arrived in Beacon Hills, he spent nearly every moment with her, watching TV, showing her the preserve, studying or just sitting and enjoying each other's company.

The second she had stepped out of her car he had been mesmerised by the skin she had on display. Her legs were long and tanned, toned with muscle she had built up over the years of running, swimming and horseback riding. He tried to call her lovely, and said 'legly'. He was the most awkward turtle ever created. She seemed to overlook his incredible stupidity and led him into the bowling alley. The conversation flowed easily between them, arguing almost childishly about Game of Thrones, but he loved that. He loved how he could just talk to her, no awkwardness, no tension, just two people that could be completely open with each other. She had even boasted in Dothraki, if that didn't give him a nerd-boner, he didn't know what would.

He loved to watch her while she moved. It sounded really stalkerish, but there was a grace to the way she moved that he wouldn't have expected. She bent at the waist to pick a ball and his eyes couldn't help but to drift to where her skirt was riding up her legs, he was nearly certain he saw a flash of red panties, and had to shift around and pull at his pants to stop a problem arising. Literally. He glanced over towards where the others were seated, his eyes flickering over Lydia. She looked hot tonight, she always did, but Skyler looked beautiful and it took him a supreme effort to tear his eyes away from her.

His eyes drifted from Lydia to the boy next to her. Jackson had his arm thrown around Lydia's shoulders in a very possessive gesture, but his eyes had wandered away from his red headed girlfriend. Lydia was looking over her shoulder and saying something to Allison, but Jackson was staring at the exact same part of Skyler's body that Stiles had been admiring moments before. He felt his blood boil. How dare Jackson look at her like that?! Okay, so he had been checking her out too, but that dick had a girlfriend. And he couldn't check Skyler out. He just couldn't, she was too good for him.

When she sat back down, Stiles shifted closer to her. He glared furiously at the other boy, as Jackson's eyes flickered to Skyler for a minute before focusing back on the girl next to him. Stiles took his turn, trying as hard as possible to make it look like he wasn't putting in any effort, whereas, in reality, he was trying his damn best to hit dead center. Stiles couldn't help the smug little smile on his face sat he sat back down, and Skyler began to compliment him on his bowling skills. She even reached out and played with the drawstring in his jumper. He jumped slightly as her finger brushed off of the skin near his collarbone.

The game continued in much the same fashion. Stiles tried his hardest to impress Skyler, Jackson eye fucked her shamelessly, and Skyler sat there, completely oblivious and beautiful. After the game, she dragged him off to the drinks stand. The two of them sat side by side on the stools, drinking red slushies. Skyler was making some joke about his bowling skills, and he decided to try and be cool by leaning on the counter. He slipped, nearly pulling Sky with him. They both straightened up, Stiles' face beginning to flush at his stupidity, but instead of anger or even annoyance. Skyler was giggling, her shoulders shaking with mirth, and her face was split into a wide, delighted grin.

"What's that about?"

She was looking over at Jackson and Scott, the smile dropping off her face. It was obvious that Jackson was jealous of the attention being given to Scott after his promotion to first line on the lacrosse team, and even after his new found wolfi-ness, Stiles was still worried about what Jackson might do if he had the chance.

"I don't know." Stiles bit his lip in worry, he didn't want to have to deal with a Scott/Jackson confrontation. "But I think Scott should stay away from him."

Skyler mirrored his actions, pulling her lower lip into her mouth. He had an odd longing to reach out and trace her lips, cup her cheek, curl his fingers through her hair.

"Yeah, I guess," she muttered. He could see her eyes sweep over Jackson's form, then shrugged and continued callously. "At least he's hot."

"He's hot?"

It felt like there was ice flowing through his veins. He squared his shoulders and drew himself up, body tensed, ready to snap at any second. She thought he was hot? Really? He had given her a bit more credit than that. She seemed like the type to like someone for their personality, not because of their physical appearance. His hand clenched around his slushie cup, and he had to try hard not to crush it, as, unbidden into his head, came an image of Jackson with Skyler, his hands all over her, his mouth on hers. "Why are you friends with him?"

"I'm not really." Skyler was tapping her cup rapidly, a clear sign that she felt uncomfortable. Stiles knew he shouldn't have spoken to her like that, but he was angry. Stupidly so. "I mean, sure he can be a dick and I'm gonna have to be around him quite a bit. I try not to bicker with him. And he can be alright sometimes."

"But he's constantly a dick!" Stiles let the words tumble from his mouth, without realising that his voice had risen to a near shouting pitch. He was letting out his anger now, the built up resentment from the years of bullshit Jackson had inflicted upon him. "He's arrogant, and he treats people like shit and he acts like he's better than everyone! And he checks you out!" That was a very personal irritant when it came to Jackson, but Stiles felt like it was important all the same. "He's always looking at you when you or Lydia aren't looking! He's a dick, Sky!"

He was waving his arms around, trying to physically display how messed up he was feeling inside. Skyler was meant to be his. Stiles didn't like her in the way he liked Lydia. At least, he thought he didn't, but it made him feel like shit. She was meant to be his. His friend. The one he could talk to about anything, laugh with, joke with, just be with. And he had had some small glimmer of hope when they had first met that she had maybe, in some deep down part of her, possibly liked him. And it had felt good, it had felt so good that for once he had been enough. He hadn't been second best, a place he had been used to for so long, and now just hearing Skyler making excuses for Jackson made him feel like nothing again. She had defended Jackson to him, someone that thrived on making other people feel like shit. Jackson was a dick, and Stiles was a nice guy, but then again, as Stiles knew, nice guys always finished last. She was meant to understand this, she was meant to be one of the nice girls.

"What the hell is the matter with you?! He's not a bad person deep down! But yeah, he is arrogant, and he does treat people like shit and he does think he's better than others! I never said he didn't act like that!"

"Then why do you like him?!" Stiles' voice exploded outwards.

"Why do you like Lydia?!"

It was the first time he had ever heard her raise her voice, and it stung a bit that she had shouted at him. It didn't even occur to him in the middle of his red mist that she had every right to shout at him for the way he was acting right now. He was tempted to shout back, to tell her that maybe he didn't like Lydia as much as he used to, that maybe he was beginning to fall for someone else, that maybe it was her that he was starting to like.

"She acts the exact fucking same!" He could see her eyes beginning to glisten with tears, but he wasn't sure what to say to her right now. He had gone to far to give her a simple 'I'm sorry'. "So, why do you like her so much?!"

"She's not actually like that! She's smart, I know she is! And she can be nice, otherwise, why would you be friends with her?" He stopped for a moment, drawing breath and staring straight into Skyler's wide green eyes. "I understand that she's not a total bitch, I've liked her since third grade!"

"Well, maybe you should get over yourself, and her." Skyler stood taller face to face, well face to collarbone, with Stiles. He had a sudden urge to reach forward, grab her and kiss her until she was gasping for breath. "'Cause that's really pathetic, and so are you."

Now that hurt. That hurt like a bitch. He took a faltering step back, shocked at the malice in her voice. Sure, she had every right to lash out at him, but Jesus, that was a serious low blow. He watched her turn on her heel and walk away, bypassing Scott as he tried to grab her, dodging the girls and scurrying out the door. The entire time she was making her way to the door, Stiles could see her shoulders moving up and down gently from the sobs that were wracking her body.

The other four looked towards him, everyone but Scott wearing an accusatory expression, Scott just seemed confused. Stiles made a slight noise of annoyance, throwing his empty slushie cup in the bin and stormed over to Scott, not wanting to be in the bowling alley for a second longer.

"Come on," he grunted to his friend, "If you want a ride home, we're going now, otherwise you can walk."

He strode on, past Jackson and the two girls, ignoring the vicious looks that they were shooting his way. He didn't need several angry girls on his case right now. He could hear Allison and Scott speed walking behind him in an attempt to keep up with his furious pace. He yanked the door of the Jeep open, allowing the others to climb into the back together as he sat in surly silence. Once they were all settled, he heard an intake of breath as Allison prepared to ask what the hell had happened with Skyler tonight. He was in no way in the mood to discuss their argument, so instead turned the radio up as loud as it could go.

"Shit."

Both Scott and Allison jumped at his sudden shout. He hadn't switched the CD since the last time that Skyler had been in the car with him, and Closing Time was blaring through his speakers, he blindly slapped at the power button until he managed to turn it off. He did not want to hear that song right now. Allison and Scott went back to giggling and chatting within seconds. Christ, why the hell couldn't the two of them just shut up?

He sat outside of Allison's house, waiting for Scott to be walk her to the door, or at least the the trellis she could climb up to reach the roof. Stiles sat impatiently, checking his phone every few seconds. He had suspected that Skyler wouldn't have texted him, he knew that she was angry and upset, which, in his experience, was a terrible combination in a woman. He wanted to text her right then and there. He wanted to call her. He wanted to race to her house and apologise and kiss her and take her out for pizza.

His head snapped up as Scott climbed back into the Jeep. He shot Stiles a heavy look that the hyperactive teen couldn't be bothered to interpret. He started the Jeep back up, pulling out of Allison's drive and back on to the neat suburban roads. Scott, never being one to beat around the bush when it came to Stiles, took less than thirty seconds to break the silence.

"So what the hell happened between you and Skyler?"

"Nothing," Stiles ground out, not wanting to discuss.

"Well it was obviously something, dude." Scott just couldn't drop it, could he. "'Cause she looked pretty upset when she was leaving."

"Yeah, I know, Scotty. I don't wanna talk about it." He took a turn sharper than he necessarily had to and was rewarded by the gentle thunk of his friend's head banging off the glass.

"Look, man, I don't wanna pry..."

"Then don't."

"...but you need to apologise, and soon."

"Why should I apologise?" Stiles was sulking now, if he wasn't driving he would have had his arms crossed and been slumped down in his seat. "She was just as much at fault as I was."

He knew he was being childish, but it was true. He knew that he had been a total dick. What he had said and done was uncalled for, but he was so sick of everyone treating Jackson like a hero when all he did was treat them like shit. But a small, deep down part of him was still pissed at Skyler. She had been a bitch every bit as much as he had been a dick.

"You should apologise because of the way she looks at you, man." Stiles pilled the Jeep up in front of Scott's darkened house, and the teen wolf unbuckled himself, half climbing out of the Jeep. "She looks at you like you're the only person she can see, the only person worth seeing. It's the same way you look at her."

Scot slammed the door and jogged up to his house. Stiles sat in contemplation for a few seconds. Was Scott right? Did she really look at him like that? He had never noticed. Every time he had caught her looking at him it was an expression of simple amusement, interest, or what he perceived as pity because he was such a hopeless case. He backed away from Scott's house, nearly hitting two wheelie bins and several mail boxes on the way. He was much too distracted to be driving right now and was overly thankful when he arrived home.

His dad was working the night shift which left Stiles alone in a cold and empty house. He wandered through the rooms, running his hands over his head and trying to figure out this whole Skyler mess. Women were so horrifically over complicated. He gave up after half an hour, deciding to try and get an early night. He dragged himself up the stairs and into his room. He threw off his clothes, dropping them in a messy pile at the foot of his bed. He pulled on the freshest t-shirt and flannel pants he could find and threw himself under his comforter.

Still no texts or calls from Sky. She was obviously mad at him, but he wasn't sure if he was mad at her anymore. He just wanted to know how she looked at him, if it was really the same way he looked at her. He would be the bigger man and text her first, apologise to her. He **would** text her first. But he would do it tomorrow.


	8. Revelations

Skyler slammed her locker shut. This day was too freaking long, way too long. She had spent most of it actively avoiding everyone. She was tired and grumpy and she still hadn't spoken to Stiles. She had spent a good deal of the weekend picking up her phone, looking at it, trying to decide what to say, then losing her nerve and throwing her phone back down. She breathed out heavily, and leaned her head against the cool metal. She couldn't wait to get home and flop on her bed, maybe watch some TV or read a book. She pushed off the lockers and wandered down the near empty halls. She had to pick up her essay from her history teacher and was leaving a few minutes earlier than everyone else, so she was surprised to hear two people talking quietly in the next hall, and poked her head around the corner.

Was that Derek Hale? Sky hadn't seen him since he had brought her home from the party over a week ago. He had Jackson pressed up against a locker, holding him by the scruff of his neck. Derek looked like shit. His skin was deathly pale, with a slight yellowish tinge to it, his shoulders were slumped and he was hunched over, his eyes ringed with worryingly dark circles. He pulled Jackson forward, then slammed him back into the lockers, shoving his face as close to the younger man's as he could. Skyler thought for a second that they were actually going to kiss. She scuttled towards them, shocked into action by the sound of Jackson's head colliding with the metal.

"Derek!" Skyler reached him, putting her hand on his shoulder and tugging him back as much as she could. "What the hell is going on?!"

Derek stumbled back, unsteady on his feet. He turned his head to look at Skyler without letting go of Jackson's neck. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but instead threw up what looked like black goo on to the floor by Sky's feet. She jumped back with a surprised squeak, the black liquid splattering her shoes. Derek bent over, wrapping one arm around his stomach, placing the other on the locker to brace himself. Jackson took him opportunity and slipped underneath Derek's arm and away towards the parking lot.

"Hey, Derek, you're gonna be alright," Skyler fitted herself under his arm so that it was draped over her shoulders, and slid her other arm around Derek's waist. "I got you, I got you now."

"Scott."

He had whispered so quietly that Skyler wasn't sure whether or not she actually heard it. Scott had insisted the day after the party that they weren't really friends which, truth be told had unnerved Skyler a bit. Derek had known both her's and Allison's names. But standing here, seeing him in this state, she was just worried for him.

"Did you say Scott?" She tilted his face towards hers, trying to keep his head from dropping back or to the side.

"Please... Skyler," Derek's breaths were shuddering and he had to keep pausing between his words. He raised his eyes to meet hers as he continued, "Get me... to... Scott."

Skyler immediately started shuffling towards the front doors of the school. Derek was weighing her down to the point where she was nearly doubled over, her spine was definitely going to be bent out of shape tomorrow.

"It's gonna be alright, Derek," Sky was panicking now, terrified that that Derek might suddenly collapse. Or die. "We're gonna find Scott, okay."

She jumped as she heard a door slam a corridor to the right, tripping over the impractically long laces of her combat boots which she had forgotten to re-tie after they had fallen open during lunch. Skyler hit the ground on her knees, tumbling forward so she was lying flat on her front on the floor. Derek's arm and the side of his torso fell across her back, pinning her to the floor. It took all of her bodily strength to wriggle out from under the solid mass of muscle that made up Derek Hale. She tugged him up into a kneeling position and held him there, trying to stop him rocking backwards and forwards.

"Please get up, Derek," she shook the older man's shoulders, the natural anxiety that she felt over any situation she couldn't control began to kick in, flooding through her veins. "Come on, Derek, get up! For me! You gotta GET UP!"

Her voice started shaking, tears beginning to leak out of the corners of her eyes. She was seriously freaking out right now. His head raised slightly enough to meet her eyes, and he nodded at her. She stood, Derek still slumped on the floor for the most part. He brought one leg up until he was leaning on one knee, for an odd second Skyler realised that this was what it would look like if Derek ever proposed to her, except he'd hopefully be less sickly. He dragged his other leg under him until he was crouched on his haunches and rose slowly until he was back in his original slumped-yet-standing position.

They resumed their slow trek to the parking lot, Skyler whispering little words of encouragement every so often. The bell rang piercingly loudly, and Derek groaned his body shuddering in what Sky assumed was pain. People began to shove their way out into the corridors, jostling the two of them as they shuffled closer and closer to the crashed through the double doors, ahead of most of the other people pushing outside. She dropped Derek down onto the low wall framing the steps that led up to the school, straightening up for the first time in minutes, stretching out her muscles and rolling her shoulders. She patted Derek's shoulder and turned to face the parking lot, desperately trying to find the floppy haired boy that Derek had been seeking out.

His bike wasn't chained to the rack, and she remembered with a groan that he had been going to Allison's after school to 'study'. That was total bullshit, but anyway. At least she knew where he was if Derek got critical. She swiveled on her heel to face back towards where she had left Derek sitting.

"Derek, Scott's not here, but I know where he..."

He was gone. Derek had disappeared. She began to turn every which way frantically, searching for the man that looked like he had been on death's door not two minutes ago. Surely he couldn't have gone far in his state, she made sure that he hadn't fallen backwards off the wall, then started making her way to the bottom of the steps. Skyler wound a finger into her ponytail, tugging nervously on her hair. She couldn't catch sight of Scott or Derek in the crowd, but she did spot a familiar blue Jeep. She ducked her head as Stiles drove past, cursing her stupid pathetic awkwardness. She heard a sharp squeak of car brakes, and looked up just in time to see Stiles almost slamming into a Derek, who was lying on the ground in front of the now stationary Jeep, his hand held aloft.

She shoved through the crowd gathered around the steps and ran towards Derek. She saw Stiles scrambling out of the Jeep, and Scott skidding to a halt on her other side. Sky slid to her knees, wishing she hadn't worn shorts today as she felt the tarmac tearing at her skin.

"Shit. Derek please, you need to go to the hospital, you need help," Skyler wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and pulled him up until he was sitting up, his back leaning against her chest.

"Oh my God!" Stiles' arms windmilled as he practically fell out of his Jeep. "Sky? Why are you here?"

"He needs help," she shrieked at Stiles, all of her awkwardness forgotten in the heat of the moment.

"Oh, no no no no no," Scott stopped next to them, tugging on his hair and staring at Derek like he had just killed someone. "Not here."

"Why aren't either of you calling a fucking ambulance?!" Skyler screamed in frustration at the boys. She could see a line of cars starting to form behind Stiles' Jeep and people were starting to honk their horns, irritated at the hold-up.

"Sky, you should go," Scott took hold of her upper arm, gently trying to tug her away from Derek but she wrapped her arms around him tighter and clung on.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Stiles didn't even seem to be fully aware of the situation. He was staring off, totally unfocused, waving his arms around like he was a children's toy that had been wound up too hard and was now completely losing its shit. "This guy's everywhere!"

Derek's head tipped forward, hanging limply and for a second the irrational part of her brain thought that he might be dead. She tilted his head back until it was nearly resting on her shoulder, Derek doing everything he could to hold his head up on his own.

"What the hell?" Scott let go of Skyler when he realised that she wasn't going to move, and instead addressed Derek. "What are you doing here?" It was a good question. Why hadn't he gone to a hospital?

"I was shot."

"Jesus fucking Christ, Derek." Skyler searched his body for any signs of blood or bullet holes. "Why aren't you at the hospital? Or the Sheriff's Station?!"

"I needed Scott." He ground out, sounding as is he was getting slightly annoyed with the repetitive line of questioning.

"He's not looking so good, dude," Stiles hissed to Scott.

"Well no shit, Stilinski, he was just shot!" Skyler snapped, making no attempt to lower her voice or hide her panic at this point. Stiles just sent her an affronted look.

"Why aren't you..." Scott trailed off, glancing sideways at Sky but she seemed preoccupied by checking if Derek had a fever. "You know, healing." He whispered the last part low enough so that hopefully only Derek could hear it with his supernatural abilities. If there was anything Scott didn't need, it was more people knowing about the werewolf problem.

"Did you just say 'healing'?" Skyler furrowed her eyes in confusion and Scott nearly kicked himself. Not that he didn't like her, but why couldn't she just go away right now?

"I can't. It was-" Derek broke off as he coughed violently. "It was a different kind of bullet."

Skyler was seriously confused at this point. Okay, so Scott wasn't the most proficient at the English language, but she doubted that he would use the word 'healing' instead of a phrase such as 'getting better', and what did Derek mean about types of bullets? Sure they might be different shapes for each gun but they did the same basic job. And for God's sake, why wasn't he seeking medical attention?!

"A silver bullet?" Stiles spun around to face the two still crouched on the ground. He looked strangely excited and worried all in one go.

"No, you idiot," Derek tried his best to seem angry but he was too mentally exhausted to be really pissed off at this point.

"Why would the fucking bullet be fucking silver?!" Skyler screamed. Both Scott and Stiles jumped as if they had forgotten she was there until her sudden outburst. They shared a loaded glance, Stiles jerking his head towards her and Scott raising his eyebrows and twitching his nose slightly. Sky felt like she was going to cry, she was so confused and she was holding a man she wanted to count as a friend who seemed like he was dying and her two of her friends were keeping seemingly life-or-death secrets about Derek.

"Stiles, please." She looked at Stiles with wide eyes and her bottom lip began to tremble as he stared back, clearly conflicted about what he wanted to do.

"Sky, just let us deal with this, okay?" Stiles crouched down on his haunches, reaching out his arm and laying his hand gently on her Skyler's shoulder. "Then I swear," he glanced at Scott, who pursed his lips and nodded, "I'll explain everything." He stood back up, trailing his hand down her arm, resting her hand over hers and squeezing comfortingly for a moment.

"Wait! Wait," Scott glared at his shoes in concentration, then his head snapped back up to lock eyes with Derek, "That's what she meant when she said you had forty eight hours."

"What?! Who-" he broke off again, arching back against Skyler. She murmured in his ear, insisting that he'd be okay. "Who said forty eight hours?"

"The woman that shot you," Scott's head snapped around as people began to honk their horns and a few people even stepped out of their cars. "What are you doing?" Scott's voice had risen a couple of octaves, and Skyler craned her neck to see what was freaking Scott out so much. Derek's head had dropped forward and for what like the hundredth time, tilted his head back.

Fuck.

Derek's normally dark forest green eyes were blue. Like electric blue. Electric. Fucking. Blue. It was like the water you would see on a Greek beach in a movie. And the weirdest thing was that they were flickering between the two colours. Skyler drew in a sharp breath, and Derek looked up at her with an unreadable expression. She pulled back from him, still holding him upright but trying to keep as far away as possible. His expression wavered for a moment and she was sure that he looked hurt for a second before becoming impassive again.

"Stop doing that!" Scott squeaked, gesturing at Derek. His movements were sporadic, and Skyler wondered if Stiles hyperactive behaviour was beginning to rub off on him.

"I'm trying to tell you, I can't!"

"Derek, get up," Scott motioned for to stand. Skyler stood, but kept her arms around Derek's waist. She was bent over at the waist and locked her arms around him even tighter.

"Stand on three, Hale. Got it?" Skyler felt wrong calling him Derek right now. To be honest, she was kind of scared of whatever was going on with the three boys. "One, two, three." She stood up straight, trying to haul the dying man up with her. Thankfully, Derek managed to get his legs underneath him and push himself clumsily to his feet. She stumbled back as Derek let his weight fall against her, and was just about to hit the ground because of Derek Hale for the second time that day, when she felt something solid behind her. She looked over her shoulder as best she could and saw Stiles' face less than two inches from her own. He had slid behind her and caught her in his arms just as she was about to topple over. It took a second for her to realise that she was sandwiched between two very attractive men, even if one was in love with her best friend and the other was a dying shapeshifter thing.

"Uh, thanks Stiles," Sky unconsciously licked her lips and flushed a deep red.

"Yeah, uh, yeah," Stiles stepped back, breaking the eye contact and ducking his head.

"Help me to put him in your car," Scott spoke to Stiles over Skyler's shoulder, breaking the spell between Sky and Stiles, both trying to look anywhere but at each other. Stiles rolled his eyes and the two boys moved towards Derek, each sliding under Derek's arms. Skyler broke away, stretching her back out and hearing the cracks as her bones realigned.

"I need you to find out what kind of bullet they used," Derek was saying to Scott when Skyler hurried up to the boys standing by the Jeep, supporting the older man between them. Sky hovered around behind them, ready to try and catch Derek if he fell.

"How the hell am I supposed to that?" Stiles was breathing heavily, bowing like a branch under Derek's weight, Scott however looked like he wasn't having any problems supporting him.

"'Cause she's an Argent, she's with them."

Skyler's head was reeling. Allison was now involved in this super-secret shapeshifter bullshit. "Allison? She's wrapped up in this too?!" Stiles made a little exasperated noise, raising his eyebrows at her. "Sorry, you'll tell me in a minute, I got it."

"Why should I help you?" It was Skyler's turn to make her irritated noise. Why couldn't Scott just give over and help Derek out. He was freakin' dying over here.

"Because you need me," the dark haired man growled back as best he could in his breathless state.

"Fine. I'll try." Scott huffed in annoyance and Skyler skirted around him to open the passenger door. Before they could shove Derek bodily into the car, Sky slipped through the door and clambered over the seats into the back.

"Sky..."

"Don't start, Stilinski," Sky snapped, "You said you'd explain, and you're doing it now."

Sky glanced out the window and saw Allison approaching the car. "Scott, your girlfriend's on her way over here."

Scott and Stiles bundled Derek as fast as they could into the Jeep, then Stiles sprinted around the Jeep and threw himself head first into the driver's seat.

"Hey," Scott popped his head into the window and spoke to Stiles, "Get him out of here."

"Urgh. I hate you so much for this." Stiles gunned the accelerator and Skyler slammed back against the seat, Derek doing the same in the front, and moaning in pain. She climbed up onto her knees and leaned forward, crossing her arms and resting them on the back of the bench seat in front of her. She turned her head to look at Derek. His eyes weren't flickering anymore, they were just staying at that unnerving electric blue. It sent chills throughout her body, and tried to get as close as possible to him without touching him, because as much as she liked him she was a bit scared of him right now.

They had been driving for nearly twenty minutes before anyone spoke.

"Hey," Stiles caught their attention, "Try not to bleed out on my seats, okay? We're almost there."

"Almost where?" Derek had tipped his head back a few minutes ago and had kept his eyes closed until now. Skyler hadn't taken her eyes off of him the entire journey.

"Your house," Stiles flung back casually, jerking the wheel to the right.

"What?!" Derek snapped, his temper returning with a vengeance. Both Skyler and Stiles looked at him like he was stupid. "No, you can't take me there."

"I can't take you to your own house?" Stiles asked, incredulously.

"Not when I can't protect myself," Derek spoke like he was explaining it to someone very slow.

Stiles huffed in annoyance, his temper fraying. He slowed the Jeep considerably, waiting until he found an empty spot to pull the Jeep over to the side of the road. Once they were stopped, Stiles raised himself up and turned his entire body to face Derek.

"All right. What happens if Scott doesn't get your little magic bullet?" Stiles seemed more agitated than anything else. "Hmm? Are you dying?"

"Not yet," Derek clutched at his arm, covering the bullet hole. "I have a last resort."

"What do you mean? What last resort?!" Derek let go of his arm as Stiles spoke, uncovering his wound. The bullet hole was seeping black fluid, the surrounding flesh looked like a mottled bruise, and his veins spreading out from the area were an unnatural purple and black.

"Mother of God, Hale!" Skyler yelled, "Cover it up. Or, as I have been suggesting strongly for the past half a freaking hour, seek some competent medical attention!"

"Oh my God! What is that?" Stiles shrieked in a voice that was the antithesis of masculine, gagging gently. "Oh, is that contagious? You know what, you should probably just get out."

"Stiles, don't be a dick!" Sky chastised, her discomfort at being around Derek was momentarily forgotten as Stiles was rude to him.

"Start the car." Derek's voice flat, but still held that tone of authority that seemed to be so natural to him. "Now."

I don't think you should be barking orders with the way you look, okay?" Sky had to admire that Stiles had stood up to Derek, even in Derek's current state. Even when he was sickly he was still an imposing figure. "In fact, I think if I wanted to, I could probably drag your little werewolf ass out into the middle of the road and leave you for dead."

"Werewolf?" Skyler's voice shook. To say she was shocked was an understatement. It wasn't even like he had said it as an inside joke or a nickname. He had said it as if he was dead serious. Was that what was going on? Was that the big secret? Skyler felt like she was about to hurl.

Stiles head snapped back, his eyes meeting Skyler's and his mouth slightly open, like he had been about to start speaking and then thought better of it. They locked gazes for an impossibly long few seconds until Derek broke the tense silence between them, and Stiles eyes flickered back to the man sitting next to him.

"Start the car, or I'm gonna rip your throat out. With my teeth."

Stiles kept eye contact with Derek for the smallest measure of time, then whipped himself back around to sit forward in the seat and start the engine. He pulled out onto the road without a word, and the next forty minuted were spent in silence, driving around Beacon Hills aimlessly. The two men in the front were wondering where they could go and Skyler was trying to get things straight in her brain.

So Stiles called Derek a werewolf, and they were seemingly helping him in some way after he was shot. Stiles had asked if the bullet was silver, in werewolf myths they were always susceptible to silver. Derek's eyes changed colour. Could werewolves do that? Sky didn't know. And that didn't explain why the boys didn't like him, or why he had given Sky and Allison a ride home from the party that night. Sky knew that it had been a full moon, and weren't werewolves meant to be bloodthirsty and out of control on a full moon? Derek had just seemed flirty. But what about all the general shiftiness and odd behaviour. Was Stiles a werewolf? Skinny, defenseless Stiles was a werewolf. Nah. Even Sky wouldn't believe that. She had sat in contemplative silence for nearly an hour, and when she spoke again her voice was raspy and hoarse.

"Stiles." Skyler whispered, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to the question she was about to ask. "What's going on, 'cause I am really freaked out?"

"Skyler, I need you to..." Stiles trailed off, took a deep breath and started again. "I need you to listen the whole way through, and just please try and understand."

"Just tell me the truth, Stiles."

He took a deep breath and opened his mouth. "So the night before we went back to school, the night you crashed and saw my Jeep at the Preserve, my dad got this call on his scanner..."

Skyler was shaking. It had taken nearly an hour for Stiles to explain the story, from start to finish. From the night Scott was bitten to the attack on the bus, Allison's family being hunters to the Alpha. They had had to stop at a petrol station to fill the tank, Skyler had jumped out to get a coffee and thrown up in a bin. To be perfectly honest, as much as she cared about Scott and Stiles, and Derek too, she was fucking terrified.

She was sitting in the car with a werewolf. A werewolf. But they didn't exist. Only they did. And Allison's family hunted werewolves, even though her boyfriend was a werewolf. And her aunt had shot Derek last night. And he was a werewolf. Werewolf. The word was starting to make her feel sick again.

"What am I supposed to do with him?" Stiles hissed into the phone. Skyler guessed that he had finally managed to get through to Scott.

"And by the way," he continued, glancing at the man slumped in pain next to him, "He's starting to smell."

There was a pause as Stiles stared at Derek for a minute before muttering, "Like death."

If it was any other situation, Skyler would have laughed. If Derek wasn't a werewolf, or dying. If she hadn't been too terrified to laugh.

"What about your boss?" He asked, his voice raising to a normal level again.

"You're not gonna believe where he's telling me to take you," Stiles told Derek in a painfully resigned tone.

Derek snatched the phone from Stiles' much smaller and frailer appendage. He held it up to his ear and breathed heavily down the phone before collecting himself and speaking with Scott. Skyler imagined that it must have sounded like one of those creepy movie phone calls, the 'It's-coming-from-inside-the-house' variety.

"Did you find it?" Wheezing breath. "Look if you don't find it..." Wheezing breath. "...Then I'm dead, all right." Long pause, then large wheezing breath. "Then think about this. The Alpha called you out against your will. He's gonna do it again. Next time you either kill with him or you get killed. So if you wanna stay alive, then you need me. Find the bullet."

Derek hung up, flinging the phone back to Stiles as the boy took a sharp left. Derek turned slowly to look at Skyler, curled into a ball in the backseat. She was as far away from him as she could possibly manage, and he didn't want to admit it, but that hurt. He had a soft spot for the fiery, emotional, impulsive teen. She reminded him a bit of Laura, but more free spirited.

"Are you okay?" He asked in all sincerity.

She raised her eyes to meet his and he could tell that she had been crying. He reached out his hand, meaning to place it on her arm, comfort her in any way he could. His fingertips were just brushing her skin when he noticed her flinch. She had physically flinched away from him. Derek let his hand hover for a moment before retracting it, returning to the position he had been in minutes ago, leaning against the window, trying not to die.

Stiles pulled the Jeep into the back parking lot of the animal clinic, and jumped out so quickly that he face planted on the tarmac, resulting in a little scratch above his eye. He raced around to help Derek out of the Jeep, and Skyler slipped over the front seat and followed Stiles path out of the car, minus the falling over part.

Without a word to either of them, Skyler took Derek's arm and flung it around her shoulder. She was careful not to touch the skin, as if she was worried that she could become infected from contact, even though Derek had explained that it was transferred through bite and insanely deep scratch. Stiles was about to thank her, but decided that he would be better off keeping his mouth shut, so instead gave her what was hopefully a grateful nod. He darted forward, rummaging behind the bins to find the spare key. After a minute or two of searching and Derek coughing up more black goo, Stiles was successful in his attempts to open the door.

All three rushed in. Stiles first, turning on the lights and running to the operating table, next Derek, and finally Sky, still supporting the werewolf, but dumping him down on some bags of dog food the second that she had the chance. She stumbled forwards into Stiles, who caught her with open arms. She had to fight the urge to hold onto him and refuse to let go until she woke up from this nightmare. She felt something vibrate against her leg, too close to her crotch for comfort. Skyler stepped back, her eyebrows raised. Stiles grimaced apologetically, fishing his phone out of his pocket.

As he unlocked his phone and checked whatever notification he had received, Sky realised that she hadn't spoken to Stiles today unless she was yelling at him or snapping. Before that, they hadn't spoken since the bowling debacle. She missed him, but she was also scared. There was an internal war going on inside her at that precise moment. On one hand, she had some loyalty to Stiles, Scott and Derek, but on the other, more selfish hand, she didn't want to be involved in the whole werewolf business. It sounded fucking dangerous to be honest, Scott had nearly killed an innocent person, run rampage on the full moon, been shot with an arrow, Derek had nearly died, and there was a murderous Alpha on the loose. She didn't want her father hurt, or Rebecca. And she didn't want to get hurt. She really didn't want to.

Skyler was brought back to the present situation by the bang of Derek slamming a what looked like an electric carving knife down on the operating table, accompanied with the line, "You're gonna cut off my arm."

"What the fuck?!" Sky shouted. You take part in an internal debate for two minutes and you miss everything.

"If the wolfsbane in the bullet reaches my heart, I'll die, Skyler," Derek swayed dangerously, and she worried for a minute that he'd collapse on top of her.

"Oh my God," Stiles moaned. Skyler thought he looked like he was going to get sick, and could even feel herself fighting the urge to retch at the thought of Stiles cutting off Derek's beautifully muscled arm. "What if you bleed to death."

"I'll heal if it works." Derek snarled impatiently. It was clear that he was finding their constant questioning and second guessing quite tedious.

"'If' is not good enough, Hale," Sky slammed her hand down over the carving knife. There was no way that she would let her boys do this.

"Well, Skyler, if the infection reaches my heart there is a one hundred percent chance that I'll die," his face was nearly pressed right against hers, both refusing to back down. "If that moron cuts off my arm, there's a fifty fifty percent chance I'll live. And I'd like to go with the working majority." He prised her fingers off the carving knife gently, gentler than she thought he could be.

"Ugh, look, I don't know if I can do this," Stiles' voice cut through the tense silence in the room.

"Why not?" Derek growled and Skyler could almost picture him now, on all fours, his eyes blue, looking like Michael J Fox from that shitty eighties werewolf movie, growling and sniffing, or some shit like that. It unnerved her to think of it.

"Well, because of the cutting through the flesh, the sawing of the bone, and especially the blood!" Skyler rolled her eyes. As dire as the situation was, only Stiles would make a smart-ass comment.

"You faint at the sight of blood?" Derek sneered at the younger boy.

"No," Stiles exclaimed, waving wildly and nearly smacking Skyler in the throat. "But I might at the sight of a chopped off arm!" He shouted the last part, Derek's eyes flickering with something more than annoyance now, it was more along the lines of anger.

"All right, fine," Derek told Stiles in a voice that spoke of finality, "Either you cut off my arm, or I'm gonna cut off your head." Derek leaned heavily on the operating table, doing his most intimidating stare.

"Okay, you know what, I'm so not buying your threats any-" Derek reached across the table, grabbing Stiles by his collar and yanking him forward until they were nearly touching. "Oh, my God. Okay. All right, bought, sold. Totally. I'll do it. I'll do it." Stiles stuttered, trying as hard as he could to pull back from the older man. Derek jerked forward, still holding onto Stiles. "What? What are you doing?" He leaned over his shoulder and vomited profusely, black gunk going everywhere. "Holy God, what the hell is that?" Stiles whined, screwing up his face and shying away from Derek's vomit goo.

Skyler shrieked and jumped forwards, wrapping her arms around Derek because she couldn't think of anything else to do right now. "It's my body," Derek explained, "Trying to heal itself."

"Well it's not doing a very good job of it," Stiles was still panicking, throwing himself around and waving his arms wildly.

"Now is not the time for sarcasm, Stilinski," Skyler snapped, just as panicked as Stiles was, "Get the goddamn carving knife!"

"Now," Derek insisted, drowning out the two teens, "You gotta do it now."

Instead of looking at the man that was asking him to cut off his arm, Stiles turned to face Sky. His expression was pleading and confused. He wasn't sure if he could do this.

"You have to." Skyler wasn't going to give him any choice in the matter. "And you have to do it now. Derek's dying, Stiles. You can save him."

"Look, honestly, I don't think I can," Stiles turned his head to avoid seeing the disappointed look in Skyler's eyes.

"Stiles!" Skyler yelled at the same time as Derek shouted, "Just do it!"

"Oh my God! Okay, okay!" Stiles picked up the knife, jumping as the blade whirred loudly, "All right, here we go."

Stiles' hand shook as he lowered the blade towards Derek's arm, just under the tight rubber band and bullet hole. Skyler grasped Derek's other arm comfortingly, squeezing and releasing methodically. Stiles took a deep breath and gulped, the blade mere millimeters from Derek's skin.

"Stiles!"

"Scott?" Stiles yelled back, the knife hovering dangerously close to Derek's arm.

"What the hell are you doing?" Scott shouted, bursting through the door. He looked over at Skyler and she ducked her head, almost subconsciously backing away from the teen wolf.

"Oh, you have just prevented a lifetime of nightmares," Stiles breathed out a sigh of relief, dropping the knife back onto the table.

"Did you get it?" Derek demanded, enunciating every syllable to grab the boys' attention. Skyler's attention was already fully focused on the very nearly dead werewolf.

Scott placed it down on the operating table, right in front of Derek. The bullet was long, pointed viciously at the tip, a small purple flower was etched onto it. Derek picked it up clumsily, holding it between the pads of his index finger and thumb.

"What are you gonna do with it?" Scott asked, apprehensively.

"I'm gonna," Derek started, his eyelids drooping and fluttering, "I'm gonna..."

Derek dropped. His entire body crumpled to the floor, and he ended up flat on his back. Skyler watched in despair as the bullet fell, rolling across the clinic and disappearing with a clink into a piece of grating stuck into the floor.

"No," Scott shouted, "No, no, no, no!" He fell to his knees, sliding towards the grate. He stopped, pressing his face nearly to the ground.

Skyler and Stiles knelt beside Derek, one on either side of him. They were both shaking him vigorously, Skyler's fingers digging into Derek's shoulders.

"Derek!" Skyler yelled directly into his ear, "Get up, you ass! Wake the fuck up!"

"Come on, Derek!" Stiles shouted, resorting to his panic mode again, "Scott, what are we gonna do?"

"I don't know, I can't reach it." Skyler assumed that Scott meant the bullet, but felt too scared to look away from Derek for even a second.

"He's not waking up!" Stiles shouted back at his friend.

"Scott, get the fucking bullet!" Skyler screamed, her voice cracking.

"Come on." Skyler glanced over at Scott, who was on his knees, his index finger and thumb were stuck through the bars of the grating. Skyler could see nearly inch long claws on the other three fingers of his hand. She tensed up, Scott was wolfing out and she was scared she was going to fucking die.

"I think he's dying, I think he's dead," Stiles yelled.

"Just hold on," Scott muttered to himself, clearly in a world of his own. "Come on."

Skyler made a little moaning noise, shaking Derek so hard that his head raised off the ground and thumped back down.

"WAKE UP, DEREK!"

"Woah, Sky you need to calm yourself down," Stiles whispered as he wrapped an arm around her. "You're panicking, and you have to take deep breaths."

"No, Stiles, I will not fucking calm down!" Sky threw his arm off of her, shoving him away violently. "Your best friend is a goddamn werewolf, so is Derek, there is another psychopathic werewolf running around killing people, one of my best friend comes from a family of werewolf hunters, and I am scared, Stiles. So don't touch me."

He drew back quickly, like he had been burned. He looked shocked, hurt at what she had just spat in his face. They stared at each other, both too scared to look away and too terrified break the silence. The only noise for nearly a minute was the metallic tapping of Scott's claws against the metal grate, and then his delighted shout.

"Oh, I got! I got it!" He pulled back on his haunches, the bullet between his two claws. But there was a problem, Derek was still unconscious, and none of them had any idea what to do with the bullet.

"Please don't kill me for this," Stiles murmured to himself, bunching his hand into a fist. He let it hover for a second, bracing himself to do what he had to do, then he brought his fist down and struck Derek across the face. "Ugh! Ow! God!"

Derek's eyes snapped open making Stiles jump backwards, as if he was scared that Derek would hit him back. Skyler threw herself backwards too, shuffling into a corner and trying to make herself as small as possible.

"Give me the bullet," Derek rasped, dragging himself up until he was leaning on the operating table.

"Ow, God!" Stiles moaned in the background, shaking his hand out and flexing his fingers.

Skyler watched in amazement as Derek uncapped the bullet and poured the ashy substance onto the table. He pulled a lighter out of his pocket, setting the contents of the bullet ablaze. He swept the flaming ash off the table and onto his hand, he stared at it for a second, then tipped it into the the bullet hole, pushing it down with his thumb. He roared, falling forward, his entire body shaking with pain. The black and purple veins began to recede, drawing back to the bullet hole, his skin colour clearing and the bullet hole beginning to close, the puckered edges of the would knitting back together. Derek fell across the table, exhausted and ready to drop.

"That. Was. Awesome."

The two men in the room looked at Stiles, disbelief colouring their features. Skyler stood, as quietly as she could and slunk along pressed against the back wall until she reached the door and slipped through it. Once she hit the parking lot she began to run, very fast and in no particular direction. She was shaking, loud and ugly sobs escaping from her throat. After about twenty minutes, she slowed herself down, coming to a halt in a copse of trees just off the road. She slid down the trunk of a tree, back pressed against the hard bark.

She stuffed her fist in her mouth to stifle the scream that she had to let out. She knew that the boys could find her easily enough, Stiles had explained the whole scent thing to her and Derek told her that she smelled strongly of coconut shampoo, which really creeped her out. Skyler pushed herself to her feet, still trying to hold back the tears. She dug her phone out of her pocket, scrolling through the contacts until she reached the number she was searching for. She dialed, and waited, hoping against hope that she would pick up the phone.

"Hello?" A voice answered sleepily, and it was only then that Skyler realised how late it was.

"Uh, hey, Rebecca," Sky swallowed and wiped her eyes, not sure what to say now that she was actually speaking to her.

"Skyler, are you alright? Where are you?" The woman suddenly sounded much more awake and very much concerned. "Are you crying?"

"I'm fine, I just, uh," she furrowed her eyebrows, feeling like shit for calling up at this time and asking Rebecca to come and get her. "I was wondering could you pick me up, please? I'm about a mile and a half away from the animal clinic on the north west road."

"Give me ten minutes."

Sky could hear movement in the background as Rebecca hung up the phone, like she was moving around the house. She would be eternally grateful that Rebecca didn't ask prying questions. Skyler gave it another five minutes, and then started to move back to the road. It was eerily quiet in the woods, something she hadn't noticed until now because she had been too distracted with her inner werewolf dilemma.

CRACK.

Skyler jumped nearly a foot off the ground. That sound was not a twig snapping, it was a goddamn huge branch snapping right behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, her stomach roiling and her body starting to sweat uncomfortably. Nothing.

CRACK.

That had come from her right side, even closer than the last. Skyler let out a mixture between a scream and a sob, spinning in the direction of the noise. Again, nothing.

CRACK.

That one was within arm's length of her left. She ran. Her body was worn out, but the fear kept pushing her further and further. The road was close now, and she could see a Hummer pulling to a stop in the exact spot she was running to. She could hear something behind her, running just as fast, maybe faster, but it wasn't catching her, it was toying with her.

Skyler spilled out onto the road, reaching for the door of the Hummer. She fumbled for a second and swore she heard something so close behind her that she could reach out and touch it. She finally hauled the car door open and tumbled inside.

"Sky? Are you okay?" Rebecca grabbed her face, tilting it every which way. Skyler caught sight of herself in the rear view mirror, and realised how awful she looked. Her face was red and puffy, mascara streaks ran down her cheeks, her hair had fallen loose of it's ponytail and hung knotted around her shoulders, her clothes were torn and pulled from Derek holding onto her, and she had blood running down her legs from where she had scraped her knees earlier.

"Skyler, what the fuck happened to you?!" Demanded Rebecca, looking terrified and angry.

"Please, Becca," Skyler took a shuddering breath, "I don't want to talk about it."

"You look like you've been attacked," Rebecca shot back, stroking her face gently, tucking he hair behind her ears.

"I'm fine, please just take me home," Skyler pulled Rebecca's hand gently back from her face. "I just had a bit of a shit day."

"Yeah. Alright." Rebecca turned back to the wheel, but Sky could tell that she was still watching her out of the corner of her eye. "But when, or if, you want to talk about it, I'm here Sky."

"Thanks, Becca."

Neither of them commented on the fact that Skyler had referred to Rebecca as 'Becca' several times. Skyler settled back into her seat, checking her phone. There were four calls and two messages from Scott, six calls from Derek, and ten calls and fourteen messages from Stiles. She deleted them all, not feeling like checking what they had to say right now. She wasn't ready to face the reality of what they were at this moment. She locked her phone, trying not to look at the group picture from the night of the bowling trip. No wonder Scott had had his eyes closed in every picture they took that night.

She glanced in her rear view mirror, and drew in a deep breath. There were red eyes reflected in the mirror, keeping pace with the car. Her head snapped back, staring out the rear windscreen. There was an animal, if you could call it that, running behind the car, only a few feet away. It was large and hulking, patches of his black leathery skin was covered by coarse hair, it's face was pressed in like he had been hit by a frying pan. It's eyes were set deep in it's face and glowed like burning rubies.

Skyler gasped, her entire body flooding with panic. It was almost like she locked eyes with it for a second, and it stopped, and stood. It raised itself onto it's two back legs and stood at about two meters tall, possibly more. Her breathing started to quicken and she felt like she was going to have a full blown panic attack.

"Skyler?" Sky felt a hand land on her knee and turned her body around. Rebecca was looking over at her like she was worried that Sky was going to explode. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, let's just go home," Skyler whispered.

Once Rebecca had returned her concentration to the road, Sky glanced out the window again. Her phone buzzed in her hand and she saw the picture she had taken the other day of Stiles with a twisty fry balanced on his nose. Her thumb hovered over the answer button for a second, before hanging up and switching her phone off fully. She needed time. Skyler leaned her head against the cool window and wondered how her life had become this crazy in the past few hours as she watched the red-eyed beast grow further and further from the car until they turned the corner, and it was swallowed by the darkness.


	9. Movie Night

The streets of Beacon Hills were deserted this late at night. The only lights were the the streetlamps at regular intervals and the headlights of Lydia's little blue car. Lydia was driving, her boyfriend sitting in the passenger seat, and Skyler was in the back, twirling a strand of hair around her finger absentmindedly. She had been at Lydia's all day and was planning to stay over until Jackson had turned up and commandeered Lydia's attention. Apparently, it was 'date night', which meant that they were going to watch a movie while Lydia had her hands down Jackson's pants. It was not something she wanted to witness. Lydia was dropping her home on the way back from the the video store.

Skyler was halfheartedly listening in to their argument about which movie to pick, 'Hoosiers' or 'The Notebook'. Personally, she wouldn't pick either. She would have chosen something like 'Batman Begins' or 'The Big Lebowski', but Jackson refused to watch anything but sports movies and Lydia refused to watch anything but tacky romance flicks. They pulled into a parking space right outside the store, both of them still sniping at the other.

"'Hoosiers' is not only the best basketball movie ever made." Jackson was was using his 'I'm-putting-my-foot-down' voice, but it wasn't even close to working on Lydia. She just stared straight ahead, lips pursed, without any intention of giving up on 'The Notebook'.

"No," her voice was sweet, but scarily firm.

"It is the best sports movie ever made."

"No."

"It's got Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper in it."

"No."

Jackson's body was tense with barely restrained frustration, he too a yoga breath and released. His jaw was clenched to the point of his bones nearly bursting out of his skin. "Lydia, I swear to God you're gonna like it!" He had his shoulders raised slightly and his arms tucked in tight by his sides. Skyler smirked, it wasn't that often that Jackson didn't get his way, and she loved it when she was around to witness the occasion.

"No."

"I am not watching 'The Notebook' again!" Jackson snapped, his nostrils were flared and his eyebrows jumping all over the place. Lydia tilted her head to the side, and turned to face her boyfriend, raising her eyebrows and pouting even further. After about fifteen seconds, Skyler saw Jackson's body slump in defeat, and push open the door.

Skyler smirked and snorted to herself in amusement. She climbed between the two front seats, trying not to kick Lydia in her face with her studded leather ankle boots, because she had been hit by one of those shoes once and it had really, really hurt.

"What are you doing?" Lydia asked her, not bothering to look up from her phone.

"I'm gonna get a movie for tonight." Skyler stretched her legs and turned to look at the front window of the store. "Rebecca and Nick are having a movie and dinner night, so I am going to shut myself in my room and watch some shitty horror movies."

"You should get 'The Notebook'," Lydia sing-songed, still tapping away at her phone screen.

Skyler grinned at her friend's comment as she pushed the heavy door open just in time to see Jackson round one of the shelves and ask, "Can somebody help me find 'The Notebook'?"

She wandered over to the horror section, tapping her fingers off of the shelves as she passed them. One of the lights overhead was hanging down, a ladder left abandoned just underneath. She jumped in fright as a shrill noise pierced the air, and it took her a moment to realise that it was just the phone ringing and felt stupid.

"Hello?" Jackson called, craning his neck to try and find any employees. "Is anybody working here?"

Skyler flicked through the DVDs idly, trying to find something so low budget, it would make her laugh. Possession flicks, no. Vampires, nope. Serial killers stalking slutty, busty coeds and their borderline sex pest jock boyfriends. Nah. Werewolves...

She turned away, swallowing the lump in her throat. She now couldn't even look at the cover of 'An American Werewolf in London' without feeling like she was going to cry or vomit or both. Stiles had been calling an average of once an hour between the hours of ten in the morning until ten at night for the past three days. They really needed to talk to Stiles, Scott and Derek too, but mainly Stiles. However, for the past few days Skyler had barely worked up the nerve to leave her bedroom, let alone sit and have a rational discussion with two werewolves. She was skittish and jumpy, spooking at any unexpected noise or movement. What she had seen in the woods the night that she had found out about what Scott McCall and Derek Hale really were had terrified her beyond belief. For the first time ever, she had actually feared for her life, and that wasn't something she was going to get over anytime soon.

"You gotta be kidding me." Skyler spun around to see Jackson walking slowly through the shelves wearing his resting bitch face. She wandered over to stand next to him, holding 'Leprechaun 4: In Space' and 'Leprechaun: In the Hood', which were, in her opinion the best of the 'Leprechaun' franchise. She was looking at the cover of the movies when she walked into something solid and realised that Jackson had stopped walking and she had strolled straight into his back.

"What are you looking at?" She asked curiously, peering over his shoulder.

He pushed her behind him with his arm, keeping her hidden, pressed against his back. "Stay behind me, Skyler." He told her in a shaky voice, unusually protective.

"Jackson, what the hell is going on?" Her stomach started to twist painfully, anxiety rising up from the deepest parts of her psyche. She reached up and grasped his bicep, feeling oddly comforted when Jackson laid his hand over hers.

They moved forward at a shuffle, Skyler poking her head around Jackson's arm and trying to get a look at what Jackson had seen. She wished that she hadn't. There were a pair of feet poking out from behind one of the shelves. Skyler gagged heavily, turning her head to the side and feeling the bile rise in her throat. Jackson stepped slowly around the corner and stopped dead. There was a body lying on the floor. A dead body. An actual dead body with it's throat slashed open, blood dripping down his stiff body.

Skyler let out a wordless shriek, her pulse was roaring in her ears, entire body screaming at her to run but she couldn't. An icy fear was invading her stopping her from making any movements. Jackson began to stumble backwards, shoving her into the ladder. It clipped the edge of the light, taking the entire thing down, narrowly missing the two teenagers by a few precious inches. They practically fell into the main aisle, Skyler holding tight to Jackson in fear. She felt him turn, and his whole body began to shake violently, tremors running down his spine.

She copied his movements, moving her body to face the back of the store. Two shockingly familiar eyes watched her from out of the darkness. The creature was crouched on all fours, splayed out across the floor, lips drawn back in a snarl. Skyler let out a horrified whimper, shrinking as far into her jumper as possible. It was an odd moment to realise that the hoodie she was wearing was Stiles'. It was his maroon lacrosse jumper that he had left in her room last time he was over at her house. She felt comforted for a minute by the distinct Stiles smell that hovered on the material.

Jackson wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her onto the floor. She sat pressed up against his side, her breathing shallow and rapid. Jackson slowly stretched, poking his head around the corner. She could see him scan the store, then turn back to her.

"Whatever it is, it's not there anymore," Jackson whispered, his voice cracking and wavering. This was the first time she had ever seen his tough guy act drop. He put his hand on her back, pushing her in the opposite direction to the beast. "Go, now. We gotta go, before it comes back."

Skyler scurried forwards on her hands and knees, keeping as low to the ground as possible. She turned back to make sure Jackson was following her. He climbed to his knees, and knocked a handful of DVDs to the ground. The noise was like a gunshot in the silent store. There was a bang, and Sky jumped to her feet, brandishing the two DVD boxes she was still inexplicably holding as weapons. The shelves had been knocked, and were falling like dominoes towards them. She finally dropped her movies and dove out of the way of the shelves, rolling painfully onto the carpeted floor.

She came up into a crouch, spinning on her heel to see Jackson's legs trapped under the shelf they had been hiding behind a few moments ago. She crawled to the shelf, positioning herself into a squat, her hands under the shelf. Skyler took a deep breath, and attempted to stand, and bring the shelf with her. She could only manage to raise it an inch or two from where it lay and then dropped it back down, making Jackson groan in pain.

"Shit, shit," she whispered, "I am so sorry, I am so so sorry!"

"Just go and get help, for fuck's sake!" Jackson snarled as quietly as possible, but his voice was shaky.

Skyler duck-walked in the direction of the front door. She heard Jackson whimper, and turned to make sure he was alright, smacking her knee off of one of the fallen shelves and over-balancing. She landed on her ass and hissed in pain. She could see the creature from her position on the floor. It was crawling over the fallen shelves and DVD boxes, it's nails clicking lightly on the plastic. Skyler hesitated for a second, then army crawled underneath one of the shelves. She just about managed to fit under the shelf and dragged herself through to the other side, poking her head out just enough to see Jackson lying on the floor, completely still and facing away from her.

She could see the beast, hovering over Jackson, crouched low until his face was nearly pressed to the back of Jackson's head. It raised one clawed paw, and lowered it until it was just under the collar of Jackson's jacket. The claws curled, pulling the jacket down to uncover his neck. There was an oddish purple glow radiating from his skin. It retracted it's claws like it had been burned, and drew backwards until it had disappeared from sight. Skyler wriggled her way out from underneath the shelf. crawling over to Jackson on her hands and knees. The creature had vanished which made Sky uncomfortable, it could show up again at any second.

She wrapped her arms around Jackson's torso as best she could and tried to haul him out from the shelf. Neither of them spoke, they were too shaken at the moment to exchange even words of comfort. She had nearly managed to shift him an inch she heard a sharp intake of breath. She looked down at him and saw that he was watching a spot over her shoulder. She turned around as slowly as possible, dreading what she knew she would see. It was right behind her. How cliché.

It was so close she could feel it's hot breath and could nearly count the hairs around it's snout. She raised her eyes to meet the beast's, drawing herself up as much as she could while she was cowering on the floor. It leaned closer and closer to her until there was barely an inch between them. It's head tilted to the side like it was studying her. She would almost say that there was a hint of amusement in its eyes. With a final outward breath, the beast sprang forwards leaping once, twice and then right through the front window of the store. Both Jackson and Skyler's heads snapped to attention as they heard a piercing, terrified scream.

"Lydia!" The two of them roared at the exact same moment. Skyler looked back to him pleadingly, torn between the choice of who to help.

"Go." Jackson grunted out. "Make sure she's okay and call the cops."

He started trying to wiggle himself out from where he was trapped, and Skyler pushed herself to her feet. Her body felt like electricity was racing through her veins. She sprinted to the front of the store, jumping through the shattered window. Lydia was sitting in the front seat of her car, practically hyperventilating, shaking like a leaf in stupidly strong winds. Skyler pulled the car door open, crouching down beside her and resting her hand on Lydia's leg.

"Lyds?" She murmured gently, "Lyds? Are you okay?"

Lydia turned her head slowly, her mouth was hanging open slightly, eyes wide and unfocused. Sky moved her hands to Lydia's shoulders, shaking her gently. The redhead's eyes jerked over to her, jumping like she had been shocked.

"Skyler." Even her voice was trembling. "What was that?"

Skyler's heart broke. Lydia looked so terrified, falling apart in her seat. Skyler wanted to look into her eyes and say that it was nothing, that it was just Lydia's imagination and it would all be okay in the morning. She also wanted to tell Lydia the truth, or at least, what Skyler thought was the truth, that it was the Alpha. From what the boys had told her, she was fairly sure that this was the Alpha werewolf. It would explain the glowing eyes, the strength, size and why it was both a quadruped and bipedal. Or she could tell Lydia what would hopefully help her deal with what she had just witnessed.

"It was a mountain lion."

Lydia's face screwed up in disbelief. "It was NOT a mountain lion."

"Lydia," Skyler held the other girl's face in her hands, feeling like absolute shit. "I saw it up close, it was practically pressed against me. It. Was. A. Mountain. Lion."

Lydia looked almost betrayed. She pulled back from Sky's touch, curling back into her seat. Skyler could see that Lydia was fighting the urge to curl up into a ball and cry. Skyler stood, pulling her phone out of her pocket and dialing the Sheriff's station. She looked back to the car as the phone rang. Her strong, beautiful, brave best friend was huddled in a lump on the driver's seat, mascara running with silent tears, body trembling, falling apart. She knew that she was the worst friend in the world. She should have told Lydia the truth instead of lying to her face, but at least if Lydia truly believed that it was a mountain lion it would be in keeping with the story that was taking over the news at the moment. And this way, her boys would be protected from the hunters.

"Hello, Beacon Hills Sheriff Department, how may I direct your call?"

Just over twenty five minutes later, Skyler was sitting with Lydia in the open back of an ambulance. There were police cars, ambulances, even the coroner all around them. Both girls were wearing shock blankets even though Sky had insisted that she was fine and just wanted to go home, and Jackson was saying the exact same, just in a more forceful way.

"Why the hell can't I just go home?"

Skyler raised her head. She was sitting with her legs spread, elbows on knees, face buried in her hands. She had just sat through an EMT checking her over because she had apparently managed to cut her leg open on a nail sticking out of the shelf she had crawled underneath. They had just disinfected it and wrapped it in a bandage, telling her it would be better in two days at most, but they had acted like it was the end of the world. She also had a few superficial injuries, bumps, bruises and scrapes. When she looked up, she was met by the sight of Sheriff Stilinski being angrily berated by Jackson.

"I'm fine," Jackson snapped at him.

"I hear ya kid, but the EMT said you hit your head pretty hard," the Sheriff was explaining, his tone that of a man speaking to a child throwing a tantrum because they can't get what they want. Patient, yet firm. "They just wanna make sure you don't have a concussion."

"What part of 'I'm fine' are you having a problem grasping?" Jackson snarled, getting right into the Sheriff's face. "Okay, I wanna go home!"

Skyler could feel a muscle jumping in her jaw. How dare Jackson speak to him like that?! She threw off her shock blanket.

"And I understand that." The Sheriff tried to soothe Jackson unsuccessfully.

"No, you don't understand, which kind of blows my mind, since it should be a pretty basic concept to grasp for a minimum wage rent-a-cop like you!" Jackson shoved himself into the Sheriff's personal space until they were practically nose to nose. "Okay, now I wanna go home!" Jackson screamed the last part.

"Jackson!"

The volume of Skyler's voice shocked everyone in the vicinity, including herself. She was tired and angry, and Jackson's behaviour towards the Sheriff had just poked her inner mama bear.

"I get that you want to go home, I really do. I'm probably the one that understands it the best," she snapped, advancing on him with a dangerous look on her face. "But you need to be checked out by medics so that you don't die, and give a statement so hopefully they can catch the animal that killed the man in there. Now, go and sit down, comfort your girlfriend and shut the fuck up!"

By the time she was finished, she was breathing heavily, chest to chest with Jackson. He stared down at her, looking at her like she had just smacked him in the face. He took a halting step back, then two. His eyebrows furrowed in irritation and he stepped back towards her opening his mouth as if to shout back at her. She squared her shoulders and prepared to face Jackson in a screaming match, when...

"Oh, woah, is that a dead body?!"

Sky would recognise that voice anywhere. Of course Stiles would be here. Of course this day could get worse than it already was. This was just fan-fucking-tastic. She turned to the front of the store and retched as she saw the coroner wheeling a gurney out of the doors. There was an arm dangling out from underneath the cover blanket.

"Everybody, back up," Sheriff Stilinski called, "Back up!"

"Oh, fuck," she moaned, pressing the heel of her hand against her forehead.

"Hey, hey, Skyler," the Sheriff asked concernedly, throwing an arm around her shoulders in a comforting manner. "Are you alright?"

"I'm okay, I just feel a bit sick," she murmured, leaning into him. It felt nice to have a father figure, even if it only was for a few minutes every few days. Whenever she had been at Stiles' or ran into the Sheriff at the store, he had always treated her like a the daughter he had never had.

"Have you given your statement yet?"

"Yeah, the blond one over there," Sky pointed him out with a shaking finger,

"Well if the EMTs have checked you out, you're free to go." Skyler pulled away from the Sheriff, going to check on Jackson and Lydia, but he caught her arm, pulling her back to face him. "Listen kiddo, I know I don't have any right to lecture you or anything, but I think you should talk to Stiles."

Skyler broke eye contact, looking at the ground in embarrassment. If it was anyone else saying it to her, then she would have defended her choice to stop talking to Stiles' completely, but seeing as it was his dad, she wasn't sure what to say.

"Look, I'm not sure what's going on with you two, but since you stopped coming over he's been really down. He hasn't even been eating fourth helpings at dinner anymore," he told her with a smile. "He misses you, he keeps trying to get in touch with you, but..."

Skyler smirked at the ground, then raised her head to look at Stiles, who was hanging out of the passenger door of his father's patrol car. She stared at him for a second, taking in the dark circles under his eyes, the pale skin and the adoring look on his face as he watched Lydia in the ambulance. She moved her gaze to the Sheriff, ready to spout off some excuse about why they weren't speaking.

"Sheriff, I'm really sorry but I can't explain-"

"Skyler! Skyler! For fuck's sake, let me through!"

They both spun around to face the crowd. Rebecca was shoving her way through the police barrier, hitting people left and right with her cream purse. It struck Skyler as slightly odd at just how often Rebecca had been coming to her rescue in the past few days. One of the deputies grabbed Rebecca's arm as she passed. She spun quickly, whipping the man in her face with her auburn hair, and began to angrily smack him on and around the torso with her bag.

"It's okay!" Sheriff Stilinski shouted, trying to hold in his laughter at the short, fiery woman attacking a policeman with a Gucci bag. "Let her in!"

The second Rebecca was released, she sprinted forwards, her Ugg slippers falling off her feet. She tumbled inbetween the Sheriff and Skyler, nearly overbalancing and falling flat on her face. She grabbed Sky's shoulders, spinning her around so they were facing each other. Rebecca then surprised Skyler by throwing her arms around her and pulling her close. Sky tensed for a second, then hugged her back.

"What in the fuck happened to you?!" Rebecca asked, pulling back but keeping hold of Sky.

"It was an animal attack, a mountain lion," Skyler mumbled, looking down and shuffling her feet.

Rebecca removed one of her hands from Sky's shoulder and placed a finger under her chin, tilting it up and inspecting her face. The worried look on her face was enough to make Skyler's stomach churn in guilt. She felt awful for making her worry.

"Is she okay?" Rebecca demanded of he Sheriff, pulling her close and wrapping her arm around Sky's shoulders. "Can I bring her home now?"

"If you're happy that you've been taken care of, and given your statement," Sheriff Stilinski addressed Skyler, "Then you are free to go."

"Thanks, Sheriff," she muttered, Rebecca already pulling her towards the Hummer, which was parked haphazardly almost touching the police barrier. She felt something warm fall across her and realised that Rebecca had just covered her with her blue cardigan. They reached the edge of the crowd in silence, both trying to ignore the media flashbulbs and journalists screaming probing questions at her, Lydia and Jackson. Just as two policemen parted the barrier for them to pass, Skyler felt someone grab her arm. She turned, expecting someone shoving a microphone in her face, but was instead met by familiar brown eyes and pale face.

Stiles' expression was both worried and angry. His eyes were wide, brows furrowed, mouth set in a hard straight line. Even though she could still feel Rebecca holding onto her, it was like everything else had faded and it was just her and Stiles standing there. They stared at each other. And stared. Neither of them wanted to speak. That wasn't true, they both wanted to speak. Stiles wanted to cry when he saw her battered face, wanted to ask if she was alright, hold her close and comfort her. Skyler wanted to scream at him, demand to know why the Alpha was after them, hug him, cry on his shoulder. But neither of them did any of that.

"I'm fine." She whispered, never tearing her eyes away from his. His hand squeezed her upper arm and he leaned forward, opening his mouth like he was going to say something to her.

"Stiles! Get back in the car!"

Skyler took that opportunity to pull her arm away from Stiles, and follow Rebecca threw the crowd to the Hummer. She walked Skyler around to the passenger door, bundling her into the seat then slamming the door. A few seconds later, she pulled herself into the driver's seat immediately turning on the heating and the radio. There was silence for a few minutes as Rebecca eased the car out of the packed parking lot.

"You don't wanna talk about it, do you?"

"Not really, Becca." Skyler breathed out, bringing her knees up to her chest. "It was a mountain lion and I don't wanna talk about it, if that's okay."

"Of course it is," Rebecca ran one hand through her hair, breathing out heavily, "But if you ever do need to, please know that I'd listen to anything you need to say." She shoved one hand down into the door well, pulling out a paper bag and handing it to Skyler, "I got you this earlier, you mentioned before that this was the only one that you didn't have."

Skyler turned the small package over in her hand, opening it and pulling out the CD. It was 'In Utero'. The only Nirvana album that she didn't own. She had mentioned it in passing two weeks earlier, when her father had yelled at her for playing 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' as loud as she could during breakfast. It made her feel like crying that Rebecca had remembered, gone out and bought the CD for her.

"Thank you." She reached over, laying her hand over one of Rebecca's. The woman looked over at her and smiled softly. It was then that Skyler realised what Rebecca was wearing. She had on her slippers, and a matching Snoopy tank top and shorts.

"I thought you and Nick were having a date night tonight." Sky asked, gesturing to her attire.

"No, uh, we were going to, but..." Rebecca trailed off, taking a deep breath, her hands clenching on the steering wheel. "He's going to New York tomorrow and he wanted to go out with his friends for a drink before he leaves."

"I'm sorry." She was so quiet that for a second, Rebecca wasn't sure if she had spoken at all. "He's a prick."

Rebecca snorted, but didn't correct her like she usually would. The rest of the journey was spent in silence, Rebecca shooting her furtive glances every few minutes and Skyler spinning the CD case between her fingers. The lights were on when they pulled up to the house, the front door was even open a crack. Rebecca jogged around and hovered by her side as Skyler climbed out of the Hummer. They walked to the door together, Skyler still tucked under Rebecca's arm. The house was comfortingly warm and Skyler shrugged off the cardigan, hanging it over the bannister.

"Do you want something to eat?" Rebecca asked, standing in the doorway of the kitchen. "There's still some pasta left over from earlier."

"I'm not really hungry, but if it's okay," Skyler stood at the foot of the stairs, twisting her hands, feeling awkward at asking a favour of the older woman. "Could we watch a movie or something?"

Twenty minutes later, the two girls were sat on the sofa, wrapped in blankets. They were watching "When Harry Met Sally', Skyler's favourite romantic comedy. She was tired enough to fall asleep right then, but every time her eyes started to close, she saw the red eyes of the Alpha staring at her from the inside of her eyelids. She was resting on Rebecca's shoulder, snuggled under her arm. She pushed herself up for a second to get a drink, downing half a bottle of water just to have something to do.

"You know," she started, still not looking directly at her father's girlfriend, "I had two DVDs picked out when I was in the video store. They were really funny too. I really wanted to watch them tonight. I really wanted to-"

Skyler broke off as the full strain of the past few hours finally took it's toll on her and she let out a sob. Her hand flew up to cover her mouth, trying to stop her shoulders from shaking. She felt Rebecca move closer to her, pulling her close and letting Sky lean on her. She felt bad for a minute that she was getting tears all over Rebecca's top, but then she thought about the last few days. Seeing the Alpha, twice, getting attacked in a video store, the loss of her friendship with Scott and Derek, and the loss of whatever she had with Stiles. She thought about all of this, and cried. And cried.


	10. The Day After The Night Before

The next day was the parent teacher meetings, but Skyler had no intention of going into school whatsoever. She slept on the sofa, curled up in the blankets with Rebecca and woke up in the late afternoon, feeling like she had been hit over the head with a hammer or was just really hungover. She realised that it was from all the crying she had done last night and felt herself flush red with embarrassment. Sky sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, before noticing that Rebecca was nowhere to be seen.

"Becca?" She called, standing up and stretching her limbs out.

"Kitchen," she heard the woman call, sticking her head out of the arch in from the kitchen wearing a soft smile.

Skyler padded into the kitchen, throwing herself down at the breakfast bar. Rebecca was wiping down the counters, humming along with some indie pop song on the radio. Skyler didn't even try to hold back her grin, it felt good to see someone act so carefree. She absentmindedly tapped her fingers on the counter, trying not to put too much pressure on her leg. Once the kitchen surfaces were sparkling clean Rebecca turned back to Skyler, leaning her elbows on the breakfast bar and resting her chin in her hands.

"So, someone stopped by to see you while you were asleep," Becca grinned mischievously, giving her a little wink. "They left this." She strode out into the hall, then hopped back in delightedly, holding a bouquet of white lilies, sitting prettily in a glass vase. Rebecca set them down on the counter, then went back to staring at Skyler like she knew a dirty little secret that Sky didn't. She picked them up and spun them around, pinching the attached card between her fingers, wondering whom had given her the flowers, whom she had mentioned to that white lilies were her favourite flowers. She opened the card, the glitter from the little pink heart on the card shedding all over her fingers. Her heart clenched.

 _I'm sorry. I miss you. Talk soon, hopefully. Stiles. XXX_

Rebecca's smile dropped as Skyler's did the same. She felt like shit now, more than ever. She had brushed him off completely last night and after that he had still gone out and bought Sky her favourite flowers and come to check on her.

"When, uh, when was he here?" The girl asked, nostrils flaring and eyebrows knitted together.

"About an hour ago, he just dropped the flowers and sat with you for a while," Rebecca pushed off the counter, moving to stand next to Skyler and peering over her shoulder at the card. "He didn't want to wake you, but he wanted to make sure you were alright. And he did, and I'm saying this nicely, look like shit. He told me that Lydia wasn't in school today either."

"I should go and check on her," Skyler murmured, still turning the card over in fingers. "She was really fucked up last night."

"No, you're not."

Skyler looked up in surprise. Rebecca had never put her foot down before, or said 'no' to Sky, even when she was being a brat. She locked eyes with Becca for a minute, neither of them wavering for a second. The older woman even raised an eyebrow at Sky's determination.

"Whether or not you're going to tell me exactly what happened last night, I know it's a hell of a lot and it affected you strongly. You need to rest today, and so does Lydia, if what she went through was anything like what you went through last night." Rebecca turned back to the sink, filling a glass with water and then tipping it into the vase of lilies. "Anyway, Stiles was going to visit her after he left you."

"Was he?" Skyler brushed her hair back, voice growing cold. "Well, good for him."

"Okay," Rebecca laughed gently, shaking her head and letting her hair fall down around her shoulders. "What the hell is going on between you and Stiles? I mean, one week you guys won't leave each other's side, and now, you can't even look at each other. Seriously, what is going on?"

"It's nothing. We don't have to be permanently glued together, you know!" Skyler stood suddenly, the stool flying backwards and nearly tipping over. "It's none of your business."

"Don't do this. Don't push me away the second we hit a subject you're not a hundred percent comfortable with," Rebecca rounded the breakfast bar, and grabbed Skyler's upper arms. "Please don't push me away. We were getting closer, and please don't push me away now."

"Why do you care so much?" Skyler spat back, attempting to wriggle out of Rebecca's hold which was surprisingly tight for such a fragile looking woman.

"Because I care about you!"

Sky froze. Whatever Skyler had been expecting Becca to say, it had not been that. She stared disbelievingly at Rebecca, squinting. It was like she expected her father's girlfriend to suddenly laugh in her face and tell her that she was just joking and she couldn't care less about an awkward, cranky teenager that had been nothing but rude to her since they had met.

"You..."

"Care about you." Rebecca finished for her, shaking her slightly. "Yes, that was what I said. I care about you, whether or not you hate me."

"I don't hate you," Sky yelled suddenly, making Rebecca jump. "I don't. I just... I mean, you're my dad's girlfriend. And after my mom..." She trailed off, ducking her head

"I know that I don't have any right to talk about this, but I'm not trying to be your mom." Becca raised her hand and tucked her hair behind her ears. Sky leaned her head into Rebecca's hand, finding the touch oddly comforting. "My mom died when I was ten, you know. And my dad remarried when I was about fifteen. And I hated her, I really did, 'cause I thought she was trying to be my mom."

Skyler's head snapped up, boring into Rebecca's warm brown eyes. "I never knew that." Her voice was low, she felt like if she raised it even a decibel, that it would break the spell that had seemed to settle over the two of them.

"And I don't want to be that person to you. I don't want to be the woman that tries to replace your mom, because I know I can't. I swear, I love your father and I love you too, I just want what's best for both of you. It is so important to me, because I do not want you to see me as the enemy here. And you can tell me if I'm overstepping the line here, but I know that you and your father are getting on very well right now, and I don't want you to feel like you've been abandoned or that you don't have anyone. I just want to be someone you can trust, someone you can go to in times of need, someone you can talk to." Rebecca's impassioned speech came to an anti-climactic end, but the woman had to stop because she needed to take a breath.

Skyler had absolutely no idea what to say to that. She had never been good with expressing her feelings openly or having people dump their feelings on her so unceremoniously. She drew her eyebrows together and tore her gaze away from Rebecca, feeling too uncomfortable to keep staring at her. She heard a disappointed sigh, and knew that Becca thought that Sky didn't give a shit about anything she had just said. She felt Rebecca begin to pull back, loosening her grip on her arms, so Skyler did the first thing she thought of.

She pushed forward and wrapped her arms right around Rebecca. She felt the older woman waver for a second, not sure where Skyler was going with this, then slid her arms around the girl's shoulders and squeezed her as tight as possible without brushing any of her cuts or bruises. The two women stood in the kitchen for nearly five minutes, neither of them wanting to be the first to pull away. Skyler was vividly aware that she smelled of sweat and sleep, she hadn't even washed since they had returned from the video store. She was just about to pull back when Rebecca's phone rang, a high pitch trilling that caused them both to jump apart hastily.

"It's work, I should probably take this." Rebecca held up her phone, the screen of which was showing the name of the second hand bookshop where she worked. She smiled, almost sadly, and turned away.

"Becca, wait."Skyler lunged forward, grabbing Rebecca's arm. "I care about you, too."

Rebecca looked at her for a second, trying to hold back the grin from splitting across her face. She nodded her head, gently, just the once, then turned again and left the room.

Skyler breathed out a sigh, flopping down on one of the kitchen stools. That was more emotion than she had witnessed in the past month. She felt weird, but good too. She had finally sorted things out with Rebecca and it felt strangely liberating to have everything out in the open. Sky had felt over the last few weeks that things had been building to a boiling point between them, and it had just exploded.

Her finger's trailed over the petals of the lilies, the satin feeling tickling the pads of her fingers. She sincerely hoped that she hadn't drooled in her sleep when Stiles was over. She was already awkward enough around him without the added bonus of him seeing her with dribble hanging out of her mouth. It was odd how she could completely cut off communication with Stiles after finding out about the whole werewolf thing, and yet she still cared immeasurably about what he thought of her.

She knew that she wouldn't last much longer without talking to one of the three boys that she had sworn to stop talking to for her and her family's safety. That was bullshit, anyway. It was not for her own safety, and not even for the safety of her family. It was because she was scared, she was scared because if werewolves were real, what the hell else was? When she was a kid, her mother had told her stories about werewolves, vampires, fairies and dragons and any other manner of supernatural creature, and Skyler had loved every second. But when she had reached her tween years, about eleven, she realised that it was all make believe and only existed in the world of fantasy and fiction. It was the fact that she was know being told that they were real, or at least that werewolves were, that was throwing her. What she had believed for years was a lie, and know she didn't know what to think. But she did know one thing, she had to talk to Stiles, and she had to do it soon. If Sky though that she had it hard, finding out about the werewolf issue, but Stiles was dealing with it alone, and he was right in the middle of it. If anyone was going to get hurt, it was the boy she had come to care about so much. She needed to talk to him.

"Sorry about that."

Sky jumped in fright as Rebecca stepped back into the room. She was sliding her phone back into the pocket of her jeans.

"The shop needs me to cover for an hour or two, Eve has some family emergency," she breathed a frustrated sigh out through her nose. "I'm gonna head in for a bit, and then to the parent teacher conference. And seeing as I already know it's gonna be good news, we can go out to celebrate, if you'd like."

"Yeah," Sky nodded, happy at the prospect of going out for something nice to eat, even just clearing her head. "Yeah, that'd be really nice. There's a pretty cool Indian across the street from that place that sells the records."

"I was wondering..." Rebecca looked uneasy, like she wasn't sure how to broach the subject. "Did you want to come to work with me? I just... I mean, if you were uncomfortable staying in the house on your own after last night." She scrunched her face up in worry.

"I'm good, thanks," Sky awkwardly placed her hand on Rebecca's arm and squeezed it gently. "I'm gonna have a shower, maybe have a sandwich and watch some TV. I'll meet you at the school at half eight?"

"Alright," Becca grabbed her purse and backed out of the room, pulling a sweatshirt and hat from one of the chairs. "Call me if you need anything, and if you don't, I'll see you at half eight. Bye, sweetie."

"Bye, Becca."

The second Rebecca's Hummer had pulled out of earshot, the silence crashed over Skyler like a wave. It was so loud it began to hurt her ears. She couldn't decide whether to shower first or eat first. She stood in the middle of the kitchen, mulling over every tiny detail of her food vs shower debate in excruciating detail, anything to keep her mind off of the horrific quiet in the house and the memories of last night. Eventually she decided on shower, seeing as she was wearing nothing but her shorts from last night and a sleeveless Hakuna Matata shirt. And she was seriously freezing.

It felt good to step under the hot spray, music cranked up as loud as it could go. Her entire body was aching, and the cut on her leg throbbed painfully whenever the water trickled over it. After a few minutes, all of the crusted blood was washed off, and was swirling around the drain with her shampoo and conditioner. When she was finished, she stepped out of the shower, and wrapped herself in a fluffy towel, tying her hair up in a hand towel she had lying on the bathroom floor. She fell onto her bed, still unmade from the night before last.

Sky picked up her iPod from where it was hooked up to the speaker, and instead plugged her earphones in and slipped them into her ears. She flipped over onto her back as she scrolled through her songs, choosing the loudest, most noise-cancelling music she could find. It was times like these when she wished she had a ready-made angsty teen playlist. She locked the iPod, throwing it down beside her and closing her eyes.

It was dark when she arrived at the school parking lot. After her shower, she had spent the remainder of the day eating, watching Netflix and admiring the lilies from Stiles. She swung her car into an empty space near enough the front of the school. Skyler grabbed her tote bag from the passenger seat, and climbed out slowly, trying not to even brush her leg off of any solid object. When she had successfully exited her car, she stood for a minute, collecting herself. She smoothed her skirt, feeling annoyed that she had to wear something so impractical, but it was too painful to wear pants that could press on her bandaged leg.

She craned her neck, searching the parking lot for Rebecca. She finally spotted her auburn hair poking out from a group of people on the steps of the school. Sky hurried over, only just remembering to lock her car. Rebecca caught sight of her about half way across the parking lot. She smiled, and began to descend the steps, but before the two could meet, Skyler was intercepted by both of Allison's parents and Scott's mom, Melissa. They all looked very, very angry.

"Have you seen Allison today?!" The mother of the girl in question took an almost threatening step towards Skyler, making the blond teen jump backwards in shock. Allison's mom has always given her the creeps.

"Or Scott, had he called or texted or anything?" Melissa was much more caring, gentle.

"Why would Scott let anyone know of his plan to kidnap my daughter?!" Chris yelled, moving uncomfortably close to Sky. She felt very uneasy at the situation, it was like she was under fire for the supposed missing teens.

"How do we know skipping school wasn't your daughter's idea?" Melissa shot back, hands finding their way onto her hips.

"My daughter-" Chris started, his eyes wandering to a spot over Skyler's shoulder. "Is right there. Let's go."

The three of them strode away, moving like a hurricane of parental fury. Skyler looked over her shoulder, catching sight of a terrified looking Scott and Allison. She snorted in pity and amusement. She did not envy the shit storm that was coming their way.

"Hey," Rebecca called, coming to a halt beside Sky. "Well, none of the teachers had anything bad to say about you, except Mr Harris, but he's a dick."

Sky laughed loudly, the comment sounding so strangely foreign from Rebecca's mouth. "You say it like you know him."

"I went to school with him."

If Skyler had had any water in her mouth, she would've pulled off the most epic of spit takes. She started to giggle, and then laugh and then had to bury her head in her hands to stop the hysterics. She felt something grip her shoulder and looked up to see that Rebecca was holding onto her to stop herself toppling over. They laughed themselves stupid for a minute or two, then sobered up, still gasping and heaving.

"Seriously, they all love you, you little suck up." Rebecca grinned and slung an arm around Sky's shoulder, steering her towards their cars.

"So, time for some Indian?" Skyler asked, spinning her car keys on her finger, "'Cause I am the mood for some serious-"

Someone screamed. A high-pitched, terrified scream of someone in danger. Skyler's mind jumped immediately to the worst possible conclusion. It was the Alpha. She moved instinctively, pushing her body in front of Rebecca's.

"Rebecca, to the car. Get in and lock the doors." Sky could see the fear on Becca's face at the serious tone that she had adopted. She started to pull the woman to where her Impala was parked, dodging people that were running and screaming, ducking and weaving. They had just ran smack bang into the bonnet of Skyler's car when they heard the echoing scream.

"MOUNTAIN LION!"

Sky's head snapped around. For the first time in her life, she actually hoped she was trapped in a parking lot with a mountain lion, it was better than the alternative.

"Move! Move!"

She inwardly groaned at the familiar voice. Did the Sheriff really have to be here to witness this? He was about three cars over, herding people out of the the way, doing his Sheriff duty. He stepped back, pulling his gun, taking him right into the path of a reversing car. It was like everything went into slow motion. Everyone was moving at a snail's pace, cars were crawling along. She didn't want to get hurt, but she would never forgiver herself if the Sheriff got hurt, and Stiles would never forgiver her either. She shook off Rebecca's restraining hand and started to run.

It was like she had developed tunnel vision. Her eyes were only focused on the path to the Sheriff. She squirmed between two screaming girls, dodged a woman with a baby, and skirted around a man trying to hustle his family into a car. The world was returning to it's normal pace, and the car was starting to move faster towards the Sheriff. It was about a meter away from the Sheriff when Skyler crashed into him. She had enough force to knock him out of the way, but not enough to overbalance herself. She had no more than half a second to think before she felt a throbbing pain erupt across her side, starting and her hip and exploding outwards. Skyler fell, landing on her other, non-injured side, and hissed in pain as the large cut on her leg scraped along the dirty ground. Her head was the last thing to make contact with the floor. It cracked off the tarmac with a sickening sound that she didn't even have time to comprehend before her vision started to fade, and she slipped into unconsciousness as the sound of a gunshot rang out across the parking lot.


	11. Bedside Manner

Everything ached. Her entire body felt like it had been hit by a truck. Her leg stung like it had been set on fire, and the rest of her felt bruised and battered. Skyler squeezed her eyes even tighter shut and moaned in pain. The response was immediate and seemed deafeningly loud.

"She's awake!"

"She made a noise!"

"Someone get a doctor!"

"Sky, are you okay?"

"Can you hear me, Skyler?"

"Get a fucking doctor!"

She opened her eyes slowly, eyelids stuck together with sleep, and was blinded by the harsh industrial hospital lights. The last thing she could remember was the car backing into her and the crack of her head against the tarmac. A large black mass suddenly invaded her line of vision, obscuring nearly everything she could see.

It took another few seconds for her vision to clear enough to be able to make out that it was Allison that was nearly nose to nose with her.

"Are you trying to kiss me? 'Cause I gotta let you know, Argent, I don't swing that way." Skyler's voice was hoarse, and her vocal chords felt like they had been shredded. Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth and it made her realise just how thirsty she was. "Any chance of some water, please?"

She heard a scuffling to her right and craned her neck, wincing as she heard it click. Rebecca was hurriedly pouring water from a jug into one of those horrible little hard plastic cups. There were tear tracks down both her cheeks, stained slightly black from her mascara, which was also smeared around her eyes in a panda-like manner where she had obviously been rubbing them. Hovering behind her was Scott, who was shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. She turned her head the other side, nearly brushing off of Allison's face as the girl hadn't even moved it back an inch. Melissa and the Sheriff stood the other side of her bed, both wearing matching expressions of parental concern, but unlike the Sheriff, Melissa looked angry underneath the worry. Guess she hadn't forgiven Scott for the disappearing act he had pulled with Allison.

"Here, sweetie." Allison's head finally retreated and was replaced instead by Rebecca, holding the cup of water out. Sky pushed herself up onto her elbows, her body screaming in protest. As much as she tried to bite it back, she let out a little whimper at the pain. She felt an arm slide across her stomach, locking onto her hip, and another arm wrapping around her, hand settling at the small of her back. She gripped onto Scott's arm as he hoisted her up, as gently as possible, into a sitting position.

"Thanks, McCall," Sky whispered to him, her mouth was right next to his ear and she kept her voice low enough that no one else could hear. "I'm sorry. Can we talk later?"

He let go of her, straightening up and giving her an almost imperceptible nod. She turned away from him, prying the cup from Rebecca's grip. She drained it in one go, cooling her throat and gasping in relief. Everyone in the room looked like they wanted to say something to her, but no one seemed to be able to find the words to say, so Sky decided to spark up the conversation.

"So-"

Before she could get more than the first word out of her mouth, the door burst open slamming against the wall and ricocheting violently, causing everyone of jump back a few inches. A man in doctor's scrubs and a white coat hurried into the room, followed closely by Stiles. The doctor rushed to her side, whipping out a threatening looking penlight before gently pulling her eyelid up. Skyler wasn't sure what to say at the sudden invasive action, so instead opted for nothing. The man shone the light in her eye for a minute, then asked her to follow it and repeated the process with her other eye. When he had finished, he backed away, slipping the light in his pocket.

"Well the good news is that I don't think you have a concussion, but you might not want to sleep for the next couple of hours, and when you do, make sure you have someone waking you up regularly. There is some deep tissue bruising and we've had to re-bandage that cut on your leg, it tore open when you fell, Miss Gray." He said all of this in the tone of a wise adult speaking to a particularly ignorant child. He also seemed overly proud of himself for having made a half conclusion on her state of being. Well, well done him, she _might_ not have a concussion. He couldn't have been a bit more specific? Dick.

"Can I go home yet?" Sky's voice was emotionless, but bordering slightly on irritated. She fucking hated hospitals. The smell, the noise, the constant humid temperature and the disgustingly stark colours.

"Well, young lady, it's quite late now, gone midnight, so I think we should keep you in for the night, and you can go home tomorrow." He smiled at her patronisingly, then swept from the room with the air of a man who thought he was on an episode of 'Days Of Our Lives'.

"Prick," she muttered under her breath, glaring at the door. The silence fell back over the room, but this time Sky couldn't be bothered to try and break it. She just kept staring at the door in irritation, just wanting to be at home in her own bed, watching TV, reading, listening to music, anything besides lying here in this goddamned hospital bed being talked down to by a doctor.

"Not to be rude or anything, but I think you guys would probably be better off heading home." Ever the diplomat, Rebecca voiced what Skyler was thinking, albeit, much more politely than Sky would've. "Sky, you look exhausted, I think you need to sleep."

Thankfully, everyone in the room seemed to get the hint. One by one, they all moved forward, Allison hugging her gently, Scott squeezing her arm, giving her a warm smile, and Melissa dropping down to kiss her forehead. They filed out of the room, Allison immediately being shepherded away with her parents and Scott being dragged in the other direction by his mom. The Sheriff moved to stand by her bedside, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"I really don't know how to thank you, kiddo. What you did was pretty unbelievable." Sky felt awkward at the praise and ducked her head, trying to avoid his gaze. "If that car had hit me, I wouldn't have taken it half as well as you. I wouldn't be in a hospital bed, I'd be on a slab." Sky's head snapped up, shocked that he would even say something like that.

"Dad." Stiles was leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest, frowning and looking very uncomfortable with the comment his father had just made. Her heart constricted painfully as she remembered Stiles telling her about his mother, and knew that Stiles would not take a joke about his dad dying lightly.

"Sorry, Stiles." He smiled down at Skyler, he gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze then backed away from the bed, making his way to the door. "Get some rest, kiddo. I'll see ya soon."

And then there were three. Skyler, Rebecca and Stiles all stood silence. Stiles was actually twiddling his thumbs. Sky huffed in annoyance and looked at Becca, they made eye contact and Skyler jerked her head in the direction of the door. She grinned at the girl, and slid as unobtrusively as possible out of the door, closing it behind her with a soft click. Stiles finally met her eyes, neither of them wanted to start but the silence was becoming so heavy that it felt physical.

"Thanks for the lilies."

It was lame and stupid, but it was also the first thing that popped into her head. The corners of his mouth twitched up, his hand moving to rub over his buzzcut.

"It was nothing really, you told me that they were your favourite once." It was like speaking to a stranger, or an old family friend that she had been left alone with and was trying to make small talk with. It was horrible.

"I mentioned it ages ago, and you remember. So, thanks." Her tone was final, she knew that Stiles was one of those people that had trouble taking a compliment. She saw his jaw feather in what she assumed was anger as he clenched it. Sky took a deep breath and started talking, knowing that if she stopped to think about what she was about to say, then she would not go through with it.

"I'm sorry for freaking out on you. And I'm sorry for ignoring you. If it makes you feel any better, I was gonna talk to you when I saw you tomorrow, sort all this shit out. You're dealing with this on your own, well, I know you have Scott and Derek, but they seem a bit more equipped to handle the whole issue at hand. Anyway, I fucked up, Stiles, and I'm really, very sorry and I just want to move past my mistake if that's cool with you. I just wanna go back to being friends and actually talking to you 'cause I miss you, and I want to be there for you guys to help out if you need it and be there for you, and Scott, and Derek too. Even if you guys don't want me to, I'm still gonna be there and ready to help you, whatever you need. I'm sorry." She gazed down at her hands in her lap, toying with her fingers to stop herself from looking at Stiles to see whether or not he was angry.

"You're sorry?!" Skyler flinched at the harsh disbelief in his voice, and waited with bated breath to see how he would continue. "Sky, you have nothing to apologise for. Jesus, I should be telling you how sorry I am." She looked up at him, confused. He seemed pissed, but she got the feeling that it wasn't her that he was angry at.

"We just dumped this whole mess on you, it wasn't fair. How were you meant to react in that situation. You could've been hurt, you could've died!" Stiles' voice raised suddenly on the last few words until he was shouting, his anger bouncing off the walls of the small room. "The Alpha went after you the night you found out, didn't he? Derek and Scott followed your scent after you took off. Scott told me that he could smell the Alpha's tracks all over yours." Stiles cringed as he mentioned her encounter with the Alpha in the woods.

"And then, last night. All three of you could have died. He hurt you, Skyler. He hurt you. I was there, outside that store, I saw how terrified you were, how hurt. What if he had done something worse, what if you had died?! Hmm?! What then?!" He advanced on her, his eyes full of angry fire, his arms whirling like the blades of a windmill, nearly knocking over everything in the room. "What would I have done if you had been killed? I would go out of my freaking mind knowing that you were still mad at me!"

"I was never mad at you!" Skyler screamed, unable to keep her mouth shut anymore. "I was bad at myself, I should have kept it together. I was weak, and I was being selfish and I cut you off. It was a dick move, but I was scared, and I can't tell you how sorry I am."

They looked at each other for a few seconds, before Stiles dove forward, bending double and wrapping his arms around her as gently as possible so he didn't hurt her. She slid her arms around his waist, the easiest place to hold onto in his position. She buried her head in the space between his shoulder and neck, breathing in his comforting scent.

"You weren't weak. I understand," Stiles whispered in her ear, the proximity of his mouth giving her completely inappropriate shivers down her spine.

"From now on, I wanna help," Skyler murmured back. "I want to know what's going on, when it happens. Got it, Stilinski?"

He let out a breathy laugh, and pulled her even closer to him, enveloping her completely. She felt herself calm considerably, and all the stress of the last few days washed away just like that. They stayed like that for another minute, making up for lost hugging time. When they eventually pulled back, Stiles ran one of his hands down Sky's arm until he reached her fingers, tangling them with his. His palm was slightly sweaty, and she could feel his hand shaking a bit, but it was comforting to be attached to him in any small way. She pulled her legs up to her chest as much as possible, making room for Stiles to sit down. He threw himself down on the end of her bed, lying on his back, head hanging off the side of the bed, their hands still intertwined.

"So, what have I missed in the past few days?" Skyler rested her chin on her kneecap, watching him expectantly. He raised his eyes to meet hers and she could tell that he was still unsure about sharing anymore werewolf information with her. "I'm serious, Stiles. I'm in, I'm one of Mystery Inc now, full disclosure."

"Alright then, Velma, if you're sure," Stiles told her in a jokey voice.

"You know," Skyler scratched her chin, grinning, "Lydia could be Daphne, she has the hair, and she has the whole pretty yet dumb act going on. Derek could be like the Fred of the group, Scott will obviously be Scooby and you could be Shaggy."

They laughed lazily, both of them feeling better than they had in the last few days. He explained about Kate Argent, Peter Hale, told her that Scott and Derek were at the video store too last night, and finally gave her a quick rundown of his visits with her and Lydia that afternoon. According to Stiles, she had not drooled when he was with her, they had just sat and he had Rebecca the lilies to give to her. But then he told her about what happened at her best friend's house. It was embarrassing to say the least, and very awkward too. Skyler felt bad for Stiles, no matter how much she wanted to be the one that Stiles cared about so strongly, she still supported his endeavours. Then Sky filled him in on what he had missed with her, namely, nothing. She spent most of the time describing the plotline of 'Leprechaun 4: In Space' to Stiles, whom had unfortunately never seen any of the 'Leprechaun' movies.

Rebecca and the Sheriff waited outside Skyler's hospital room for nearly an hour and a half. They had met several times, like most people in a town the size of Beacon Hill's, but had not seen each other for several weeks, so it was good to catch up. They also wanted to let Skyler and Stiles talk. Neither of them knew what had happened between the two teens, except that both of them were significantly less happy in the few days that they had spent apart. They sat on the uncomfortable plastic chairs outside, drinking cup after cup of cheap coffee until half one in the morning. At twenty five to two, Rebecca stood up, yawning and telling the Sheriff that she was going to check on Sky and Stiles, and then she was going to find a chair to curl up on in the corner of Skyler's room and sleep.

As Rebecca shuffled sleepily down the hall to Sky's room, Sheriff Stilinski made his way to the vending machine. He felt awful, Skyler had only been hurt because she was trying to protect him. He liked the girl, she was sweet and good for Stiles. Her shy kindliness reminded him a small bit of Claudia when they had first met. He fed the machine a few quarters and punched in the numbers for a packet of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. He blamed Stiles for his recent addiction to the candy. The boy was always goddamn eating it and then complaining that his father ate unhealthily. He peeled open the wrapper, but before he could take a bit, he heard a terribly familiar gruff voice.

"I'm looking for Skyler Gray." Derek Hale was standing at the nurse's station, looking like stirred shit. Not for the first time in his life, John Stilinski's hand reached towards his hip which usually held the gun in his holster before realising it was empty. Derek Hale being anywhere near him made him uncomfortable, Derek Hale standing just down the hall from him, looking for one of his son's best friends made him sick to his stomach. Stuffing the peanut butter cups into his pocket, he strode to where the man was standing.

"I'll handle this," he smiled at the nurse behind the desk, resting a less than comforting hand on Derek's shoulder. The nurse nodded, frowning a bit, Derek had obviously not been on his most charming behaviour. He led the man in the opposite direction to Sky's room.

"Hale, what do you want with the girl?" The Sheriff put on his best professional attitude, drawing himself up, looking Derek in the eye, refusing to use Skyler's name.

"I wanna check on her." Derek's breathing was shallow, like he had been running. He had large bags under his eyes and unnaturally pale skin.

"And how do you know her?" The tension between the two men was reaching its peak.

"Friend of a friend." Derek snarled, actually snarled. The Sheriff could swear that he had heard what sounded like an animalistic growl under the words.

"Well, seeing as you were a suspect in a recent murder trial," Sheriff Stilinski crossed his arms over his chest, moving a step closer to Derek, "I don't think it's appropriate for you to be visiting a sixteen year old girl."

"The charges were dropped," Derek moved closer too, until the men were nearly chest to chest. He huffed out a breath, dropping back. The Sheriff tried not to show his surprise, Derek did not seem like a man to back down easily. "I just wanted to make sure she was okay."

"She's fine," he told Derek, softer than before. He seemed genuinely concerned about Skyler.

"Could you give her this, please?" Derek pulled a small brown paper bag out of the inside of his leather jacket, and dropped it into the Sheriff's outstretched hand. He turned, moving down the hallway quickly, without another word.

The Sheriff made his way down the hall, the short encounter had set his head reeling. He never knew that Skyler had anything to do with Derek Hale, and he would have to talk to her about it. She shouldn't be hanging around with that man. He looked down at the bag, swinging it between his fingers. What the hell could he have to give to her? He opened it, peering in. There was a small silvery glint at the bottom of the bag, he reached in and-

"John."

Rebecca's tired voice caught his attention. She was standing in the doorway of Skyler's room, a soft smile on her face. She crooked a finger, beckoning him over. He strolled over, scrunching the bag up in his hand. He took a few steps to her, pausing next to the woman, his heart fluttering at the scene.

Skyler was fast asleep, splayed across the bed. Stiles had pulled a chair up to the bed, and was lying on it backwards. His legs were thrown over the back of the chair, his torso thrown across the seat, and his head resting on Sky's stomach. They were holding hands.

"You can go home if you want," Rebecca told him in the midst of a yawn. "I'll send him home in the morning."

"Are you sure?" He whispered back, just realising how tired he was.

"Yes, now go." Rebecca prodded him, genially. He smiled at the woman, patting her gently on the shoulder. He dropped the bag on her bedside locker and left the room as quietly as possible. He looked back through the window as he passed. Stiles shifted in his sleep, nuzzling deeper into the blanket. He watched as Skyler moved her hand, never even waking up, and brought it to rest on the side of Stiles' face. Her fingers smoothed over Stiles' hair and down his cheek, stilling his son's movements. The Sheriff's face split into a wide smile. He was glad that Stiles had someone like her in his life. He left the hospital in a near comatose state, he barely even remembered the drive home. All he needed was a glass of whiskey and a good night's sleep. He had taken the night off to attend Stiles' parent teacher evening, and he was working a double shift tomorrow to make up for it. It was going to be a long day.


	12. Night School

"So, tell me again, you keyed this guy's car and then blamed it on Scott?" Skyler asked through fits of laughter.

She was lying on her back on her bed, head hanging off the side. She was watching Stiles upside down as he sat in her beanbag chair and regaled her with the story of how he had spent all day trying to teach Scott control over his werewolf side, and how he ended up landing them both in detention.

"Yeah, and they started kicking the crap out of him, but it totally worked!" Stiles flung his arms wide in a victorious gesture, grinning at her. "And it turns out that Allison is his anchor. She keeps him grounded when he starts getting all wolfman. And he has realised that he loves her, so we have to deal with that now."

"Uch, Ally's like that all the time. Always proclaiming her undying love for Scott." She rolled over onto her front, crossing her arms and resting her head on them. "They're adorable, but it's really, truly gross at times." She paused for a minute, watching Stiles pull at a loose thread on the chair. "So what would your anchor be? If you were a werewolf?"

He scrunched up his face in concentration and thought for a while. "I think... Probably my dad." He reached up and rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, he's my dad, you know. We all each other has left. I can't leave him on his own, that's what stops me making bad decisions. I care about him, like, more than anything."

"Stiles, that was so lovely. But as lovely as that was, you constantly make bad decisions." She raised an eyebrow, trying to stay serious, but couldn't help the grin that split across her face at the show of familial love.

"Shut up." He laughed, gently chucking a pillow at her from the threadbare chaise lounge she had found in a second hand store. She had a strange love for old furniture and tended to fill her room with it whenever she found some. "So what about you? What's your anchor?"

"I dunno. Probably my friends, Lydia, Ally, Scott, you. And music. Music keeps me grounded, I guess." Stiles was observing her know, not just looking at her. It was like every move she made was fascinating to him, every little twitch or flutter was something worth remembering. "Music's just so raw, you know. So intimate. It's a person's way of expressing their emotions, their feelings through the most beautiful art form. Like the Beatles. Probably the most famous band in the world, and they used their music to preach love through their music, and you listen to enough of it and you start to feel like you kinda know them. And you know when you're not in the mood to talk to anyone, but there's always that perfect song no matter how you feel. And then, there are some songs that are just so beautiful that they make you cry. Not because you're sad or even happy, just because they're beautiful..."

She trailed off, smiling sheepishly at Stiles who was still watching her, enthralled. She had gone off on a bit of a rant. "Sorry," Skyler laughed a little to try and shake off the slight embarrassment she was feeling at going to overboard talking about music with him. "It's silly, I know."

"No, no, I get what you mean." He shifted forward, climbing off the beanbag and onto his knees, shuffling over until he was practically nose to nose with her.

"You do?"

"Yeah," he nodded, voice lower now that he was only a few inches from her. "Sometimes there's just that song that you hear and it makes everything so much better."

She stared at him for a few seconds, taking in every detail of his face. His wide eyes, full mouth parted slightly, tongue running over them slowly, his button nose which she longed to kiss, right on the tip, his pale skin.

"Can I play you a song?" She reached out a finger, poking the tip of his nose and letting her finger lie there for a minute.

"I'd like that."

She patted the space next to her, and Stiles climbed up on the bed. He lay on his back next to her and she shifted up onto her knees, leaning over Stiles to grab her iPod that was thrown on her pillows. She slipped one earphone into her ear, and handed the other one to Stiles. She lay back down next to him, so close that their arms were pressed together, her leg lying slightly on top of his. She unlocked the device and scrolled through her 'Favourite' playlist.

"This is by a band called Sigur Rós," Sky told Stiles, without looking at him. "The song's called 'Sæglópur'. It's Icelandic for 'lost at sea' or 'lost seafarer'. It is the most beautiful song I've ever heard."

She pressed play and settled down as the opening notes began. She turned to face Stiles, wanting to see how he reacted to the song. It was her favourite, and sharing it with Stiles like this felt like she was giving him a part of her soul, in a way. He was already looking at her, head turned to the side. The tips of their noses brushed, and Skyler looked into his eyes as the song unfolded around them. His eyes bored into hers, searching for something he couldn't seem to pinpoint. Sky's eyelids fluttered shut, feeling the music wrap around her. She nodded along with it absentmindedly, barely noticing Stiles' fingers tangle in a loose strand of her hair.

She didn't open her eyes when it was finished. She just lay there for a few seconds, listening to the sound of her breath mingling with Stiles'. She blinked a few times, blinded by the dying light filtering in through her window. It caught Stiles' eyes, making them sparkle softly.

"It was beautiful, but it sounds sad." He whispered, the corners of his mouth twitching up. He still had a lock of her hair wrapped around his finger and tugged on it gently.

"It could be. I'm not quite sure," Skyler told him, rolling onto her back but still looking at him. "I don't speak Icelandic, and half the words aren't in Icelandic, they're in Hopelandic. It's their own made up gibberish language."

Stiles laughed, lying on his back and grinning at the ceiling. "I can see why you like it. It's amazing."

She could still feel their legs tangled together and his arm pressed to hers. It was brilliant to have him back, to be able to be in the same room as him without it being filled with heavy tension. She even loved just lying next to him quietly, it felt so natural. She wriggled back onto her side, delighted that he was here.

"So, what's Derek planning to do with him tonight?" She asked, fiddling with one of the buttons on Stiles' shirt. He reached down, pulling her fingers off his shirt and interlocking them with his.

"Don't know," Stiles snorted, "Probably gonna hang him upside down from a tree by his toes. Or something werewolfy like that."

"Werewolves don't do that."

Skyler and Stiles jumped, which was awkward while lying down. Stiles' arms flailed wildly, smacking Sky in the boob, and she curled up instinctively, kneeing Stiles aggressively in the hip. They both looked up at Scott in disbelief. He was standing just inside the open window, a small smirk on his face.

"What the hell, dude?!" Stiles yelled, pushing off the bed and standing up.

"Did you just climb up my house and in my bedroom window?" Skyler lay on her stomach, eyebrows raised. "So not cool."

"Wait, was I interrupting something?" Scott grinned widely, gesturing between the two of them and the bed.

"No!" Both shouted, scaring Scott enough to make him jump back a few steps. They both flushed deeply, edging away from each other as much as possible.

"Well, okay then." He smirked at them for a minute before sobering up. He sat on the chaise lounge, legs spread, resting his elbows on his knees. "I need your help."

"What's going on?" Skyler asked, rolling herself over and sitting up on the edge of the bed.

"You know my boss, Deaton?" Scott looked up at Stiles and Sky, eyes flickering between the two of them. They both nodded in affirmation, motioning for him to continue. "I turned up to work earlier, and Derek had Deaton tied up in the back room. He was all bloody and beaten up. Derek's insisting he's the Alpha, but I know it's not him, I'm sure. So I'm gonna go to the school and try to draw the actual Alpha out and I could use your guys' help." It all came out in a breathless rush, Scott not even bothering to pause inbetween words or sentences.

"Sure man, give me a minute to get dressed," Sky told him, standing up and shuffling to her wardrobe.

"Uh, no." She looked over at Stiles, surprised at his tone, it was very authoritative. "You are not going. You've only been out of hospital, what, two days? You are not going." He placed his hands on his hips, drawing himself up and glaring at her. Scott watched the two of them apprehensively, like he expected it to turn into a full blown argument. Both of them underestimated her new-found dedication to the whole werewolf situation.

"Yeah, okay," Skyler snorted, turning back to her clothes. "Try and fucking stop me, Stilinski."

And that was the end of that. Skyler stripped off her sweats and tank top, leaving herself standing there in her matching blue sports bra and boxer shorts. She heard a little squeak from behind her and grinned, knowing that Stiles was definitely checking her out. She found a pair of stretchy black jeans and a baggy black sleeveless shirt which she wriggled into as best she could with her still bruised and battered body. She threw herself back onto the bed, slipping on her combat boots and lacing them all the way up her shins. She stood back up and threw Stiles a wink that he didn't catch seeing as he was staring at the floor and blushing bright red. She grabbed the collar of her leather jacket and strode to the door.

When she looked back, both boys were still standing in the middle of her room, wearing dumbfounded expressions. "Well, come on. I'm not climbing out of the goddamn window, McCall." They both jumped and hurried after her, out the door and down the landing. Skyler practically hopped down the stairs, delighted that she finally had a chance to prove that she could handle all this werewolf crap.

They piled into the Jeep together, Skyler forcing Scott into the backseat with his bike, and taking her usual place in the front passenger seat. Scott explained his plan on the way over. Neither of them were very happy with it. By the time they reached the school it was completely dark, and Derek was nowhere to be seen yet. Skyler jumped out of the car, sliding her jacket on. She felt the cold air wash over her and shivered with excitement.

"This is a terrible idea."

"You're so negative, Stiles," Skyler laughed, leaning against the Jeep. "But actually, Scott, it is an awful idea."

"Yeah, I know." Scott ran his hand through his hair, sounding exhausted.

"But we're still gonna do it?" Stiles asked, like he hoped that the answer would be different to the other seven times he had asked Scott the exact same question in the car.

"You got a better idea?" Scott exclaimed, exasperated with his two friends.

"Well personally, I'm a fan of ignoring a problem until it goes away," Stiles said, making a little sweeping motion with his hand as headlights swung into the parking lot.

"Just make sure we can inside. He's here." His eyes steeled as he saw Derek behind the wheel of the Camaro as it pulled up next to them. Skyler had to remind herself that Derek had just beaten the crap out of Scott's boss and had to fight the urge to wave and grin at him. "Where's my boss?" Scott snapped the second Derek stepped out of his car.

"He's in the back," the older werewolf told them without taking his eyes off of Skyler. She realised just how much she had missed the strange gruff voice and smiled at him, staying at the car as the others ambled over to the car to check on the vet. Derek's mouth twitched, the closest she had ever come to seeing Derek smile for real before his mouth drooped back into the indifferent scowl he usually wore.

"Oh, well, he looks comfortable." Stiles' voice dripped with sarcasm. Sky kicked off the Jeep and craned her neck to get a look at Deaton. He was bloody as hell, bruises and small cuts all over his skin, his arms, legs and mouth duct-taped together.

"Seriously, Derek?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and moving to stand next to him. Her stomach flipped violently, repulsed at the state Scott's boss was in. "Nice, real nice," she spat.

The boys both sent him a dirty look and started to head in the direction of the school, Stiles taking a few steps out of his way to take hold of Skyler's arm. "Come on." He muttered, pulling her slightly.

"You guys go," she told them, pushing Stiles towards Scott. "I'm gonna stay here with Derek."

"No." Both boys spoke at the same time, making her roll her eyes in frustration. Skyler pulled her arm out of Stiles' grip and walked over to stand with the older man.

"Go on," she made a shooing motion at Scott and Stiles, raising an eyebrow. "Someone's gotta make sure Derek doesn't eat Deaton or anything." Derek made an unamused snorting noise, glaring down at her.

"She is right, Stiles." Scott admitted grudgingly, placing a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Now, come on, we gotta do this."

Stiles sent Skyler one last worried look before backing away, then turning and walking up the steps to the school. Derek and Sky watched the boys break the chain on the door with the bolt cutters Stiles had just, worryingly, had lying around in the boot of the Jeep, and disappear inside the dark building. She leaned back against the Camaro, breathing out a long breath and glancing over at Derek.

"So, how sure are you that Deaton is the Alpha?" Sky asked him, picking at one of her fingernails.

"Very."

A few moments of silence. "Is that all I'm gonna get out of you, Hale?" She snapped, shifting to face him. "Very?"

"It's all you need to know, Skyler." Derek growled at her, still not bothering to look her in the eye.

"You know what, Derek. I know that ignoring you was a dick move, but I am trying to make up for it. I am trying to help you guys with this whole mess. Okay?" Sky pushed off the bonnet of the car, and standing in front of him. "And the least you can fucking do, Hale, is acknowledge me." She ended her little rant by shoving Derek's shoulders as roughly as she could manage, which was practically nothing to the werewolf. She jumped as Derek's hand wrapped around her wrists and held her steady.

"You shouldn't be here. It's dangerous and you could get hurt, or even killed. You're human and you can't even heal, so what happens if the Alpha attacks again? And you don't make it out alive this time? Hmm?" His eyebrows were raised as he spoke to her, his voice getting louder and louder until he was shouting.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, Derek!" She yelled back, anger coursing through every part of her body until it felt like she was burning from the inside. "I've already had this stupid conversation with Scott and Stiles and my reasoning or decision will not change. I've made up my mind to help and be a part of this, and whatever the hell you say will not convince me any differently."

They were both silent for a minute until a loud screech rang out across the parking lot. It took a while for Sky to realise that it wasn't a cat being tortured over the intercom and another few seconds for her to realise that it was Scott attempting to draw out the Alpha. Derek dropped her hands, rolling his eyes aggressively.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Derek muttered, seeming almost embarrassed that he was in the same pack as the teen wolf.

Skyler's mouth twitched up gently, and she pursed her lips, trying her hardest not to laugh. A small giggle burst out of her mouth and she clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle the laughter. Derek's head jerked towards her, surprised at the sudden outburst. She lowered her hand, taking calming breaths, but another laugh exploded from her and she stopped trying to hold them in. Within a minute, she was bent double, laughing so hard that she had tears pouring down her face and her body was shaking. Derek just stood next to her and watched with a much more friendly expression on his face than the one he had been wearing a few minutes ago. Not even Scott's second, much more impressive, roar could sober her.

"I'm gonna kill both of you!" Derek yelled, pointing furiously at Scott and Stiles in turn, looking like he was genuinely ready to commit double homicide. "What the hell was that? What are you trying to do, attract the entire state to the school?"

"Oh, lighten up Hale," Sky laughed, standing up straight. "You gotta say that it was fairly impressive. Even if it was a wee bit loud, Scott." She grinned at the floppy haired boy who looked incredibly pleased with himself.

"Sorry," he said, one side of his mouth curling up, not looking sorry at all. "I didn't know it would be that loud."

"Yeah, it was loud, and awesome!" Stiles sing-songed the last word, making Sky giggle again until Derek shot her a 'Seriously-shut-the-hell-up' look, then turned to Stiles.

"Shut up."

"Don't be such a sour wolf," Stiles waved a hand at Derek, eyebrows furrowed gently.

"What'd you do with him?" Scott was peering into the back of Derek's car, wide-eyed. It was empty, the passenger door thrown wide. Oh, shit.

"What?" Derek looked at Scott, confused, then into the backseat of the Camaro. "I didn't do anything."

"Sure," Stiles drawled sarcastically, glaring at Derek.

"No, really," Sky gestured, frantically between herself and the older werewolf who was standing with his arms crossed and a worried look on his face. "I was standing right next to him the entire time, I swear. He didn't touch Deaton. Listen to my heartbeat, Scott. No spike, no waver, nothing."

Scott stared at her for a few seconds then nodded, shooting her an uneasy smile. The four of them stood in an awkward silence for a few moments, no one knowing what to do next.

"Alright, so what are we-" Skyler was cut off as she felt two hands slam into her back, and she stumbled forwards.

"Skyler, go! Run!" She heard Derek yell behind her. She tripped over her feet, flying into Stiles' chest. She felt his arms slip around her waist and he clasped her closer to him. She spun around in his arms until her back was flush was his chest.

"Fuck," Skyler breathed out, feeling her stomach drop. Derek was suspended several feet in the air, held up by the claws that were protruding from his chest. The Alpha stood behind him, reared up on his hind legs, standing tall. None of them so much as breathed as they waited for the werewolf to make its move. Skyler's eyes were fixed on Derek. His face was deathly pale, like he had already died, his mouth was wide open and blood trickled from it in a steady stream that was getting heavier and heavier. The Alpha lifted Derek a bit higher then tossed his against the wall of the school like he was no more than a piece of trash. The Alpha turned to them, eyes glowing in the dark, lips drawn back over his jagged teeth.

"Run."

None of the three of them were sure who said it, but they all agreed that it was what had to be done. Stiles released Skyler's waist and instead grabbed her hand, pulling her along behind him. They raced for the still open front doors of the school. Sky was trying not to glance over her shoulder at the Alpha and concentrated on making her legs move fast enough to keep up with the two boys. The bruises and cuts on her body screamed in protest as she flung herself into the school, skidding to a halt just as Scott and Stiles slammed the doors shut.

Stiles pulled her close until she was tucked under his arm, breathing him in, in a desperate attempt to calm herself. They all scanned the hallway looking for something to keep the door shut. Scott was yelling.

"Lock it! LOCK IT!"

"Do I look like I have a key?!" Stiles shot back, pressing his back against the door, Skyler still leaning into him.

"Grab something!"

"What?"

"Anything!"

Stiles froze, suddenly, his entire body rigid, his face blank and eyes glazed. He looked like he was contemplating doing something awful. He pushed Skyler away slightly, still holding her but enough to have space to turn and glance out of the window. Sky and Scott followed his gaze across the now very empty parking lot to the bolt cutters lying on the ground. Stiles' eyes were fixed on the bolt cutters with a worrying determination. Scott realised his plan only a few seconds before Skyler.

"No," he told Stiles, who was starting to get jittery.

"Yes," Stiles replied in his best 'No Nonsense' tone. He peeled his arm from around Skyler's shoulder, pushing her towards Scott and taking a step back.

"Stiles, please don't do this," Skyler begged, reaching out and clutching at the cuff of Stiles' jacket. "He could still be out there, Stiles, please." Her eyes were wide, chewing hard on her bottom lip. She felt Stiles take a step back and tightened her grip on him, moving with him.

"Stiles, no, don't." Scott was using the same desperate tone of voice that Skyler had used to try and persuade him to stay in the building.

Stiles opened the door just a crack and stepped into the space he had created. He tugged his arm gently out of Sky's grip, and cupped her face, thumb running over a healing cut on her jaw. "No matter what happens, stay with Scott, stay inside and stay safe." Stiles swooped down pressing his lips to her forehead and holding them there for a few seconds before pulling back and slipping out the door.

Skyler stumbled back, her mind reeling at the events of the last five minutes. She felt Scott place a comforting hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off and stepped up to the window, pressing her face up to the glass. Stiles was creeping as best he could, staying low to the ground, practically bent double. Her whole body was shaking, terrified that the Alpha was going to jump out and swallow Stiles whole or whatever the fuck that psycho werewolf was in to. She had already seen him tear Derek apart like it was nothing, and Derek was a full fledged werewolf, Stiles was just mortal. She was not going to lose anyone else tonight.

Skyler grabbed the handle of the door, trying to haul it open until Scott's hand came down on top of hers. She looked up at him and snarled, trying to jerk her hand out from under his. His werewolf strength proved superior, however.

"Let me go, Scott." She snapped, pushing him, but it was just like when she had tried to push Derek. It was like hitting a brick wall.

"Don't even think about, Skyler. If you go out there the Alpha will kill you, or Stiles will kill you for putting yourself in danger, and then he'll kill me for allowing you to put yourself in danger." Scott wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back against him and trapping her arms against her sides. "Could you please stop struggling, Sky?" Scott pleaded, sounding absolutely exhausted.

"Not until you let me..." She trailed off, her eyes fixed on the window. Stiles was crouched next to the bolt cutters, eyes roving around the parking lot. The only thing that Stiles failed to notice was the hulking werewolf that was poking its head out from behind the Jeep. Scott's arm dropped from around her as he saw just what she was staring at.

"Stiles!" Sky slammed her hand against the window, screaming as loud as she could. "STILES! Come back!"

Scott shoved his face up to the glass in the door, eyes wide and terrified as he took in what was happening outside. "Run, Stiles!" He roared, joining in with Skyler's frantic pounding on the double doors. "STILES!"

Stiles head snapped up, staring at them in confusion. Skyler jabbed a finger at him, signaling to look behind him. He turned, rising up to stand as he saw what they had been trying to warn him about. Without a second thought, Stiles started running. He sprinted for the steps, urged on by the frightened shrieks of Scott and Skyler. The Alpha was starting to crawl out from behind the Jeep, belly nearly touching the ground. Stiles reached the bottom of the steps and began leaping up them three at a time.

"The doors!" She shouted at Scott, wrenching the one she was pressed against open just a crack. Scott copied her actions, making a gap big enough for Stiles to fit through. He skidded into the building, using his momentum to turn himself around without stopping. He rammed the bolt cutters down through the door handles and let himself drop forward, resting his forehead against the cool metal of the doors.

"How could you!? You could've died, you could've been BITTEN! God, Stiles! You asshole! You better not to anything that stupid again or I will kill you, Stiles Stilinski!" Sky flung herself at him, pummeling his chest with her fists that were admittedly much too weak to do any real damage. He caught her wrists in his hands in much the same way that Derek had done about fifteen minutes earlier, but it was much more comforting this time. He pulled her forward, dropping her wrists so he could wrap his arms around her shoulders, pressing them together.

"Woah, woah, woah," Stiles whispered soothingly. "I'm okay, I'm fine. I promise, I won't leave you again."

"You better not. Asshat." She muttered, her voice muffled as her face was shoved into Stiles chest. She wriggled her arms out from where they were trapped between the two of them and slipped them around his waist. She nestled her head into the space between his neck and shoulder, taking a minute to breathe him in.

"Where is it?" Scott had his face up to the glass again, watching the dark parking lot worriedly. "Where'd it go?" Sky and Stiles moved to the other window, smushing their faces together to look out into the dark. She could feel the heat radiating from Stiles body where their faces were touching, sending a tingle through her body.

"I don't know," Skyler huffed, pulling back from the door and biting anxiously on a hangnail. "But we should definitely get away from the doors before he gets back."

The boys joined her, backing away slowly from the door. "That won't hold, will it?" Scott gazed at the bolt cutter sitting snugly around the door handles. Skyler felt a tickling sensation on the back of her hand and looked down to see Stiles fingers trailing over hers, before sliding his hand around so they were palm to palm and interlocking their fingers. They started to back away quicker, still craning their necks to see out of the windows.

"Probably not," Stiles agreed, squeezing Sky's hand tighter as a roar ripped through the air. It reverberated the halls, bouncing off every surface, and Skyler could feel the walls and floor vibrate. The roar was nothing like the screeching cat howl that Scott had let out earlier, it was more like his second attempt, but even stronger. it was pure unadulterated power. And it was fucking terrifying.

All three turned and ran, Sky and Stiles still holding hands. The careened down the hallway, legs thumping the ground in a rhythmic drumbeat that seemed to match Skyler's frantic heartbeat. Her leg was screaming at her to stop, the muscles aching, and she was sure she could feel the wound on her leg opening again. She bit down on her lip to stop herself screaming out in pain.

They skidded round a corner, slipping and sliding on the linoleum. "In there!" Scott shouted, gesturing to the open door of an empty classroom. He tumbled in, nearly overbalancing, Stiles shoved Skyler in after Scott and then followed after her.

"The desk!" Stiles yelled, dropping Skyler's hand and rushing to the teacher's desk at the top of the room. Scott and Sky jumped to help him, still high on adrenaline from their little run. They tried to move the table towards the door that was still flung wide. Scott pushed, and Stiles and Skyler pulled. They only moved it a few inches before it made a loud screech, a noise that sent goosebumps up and down Sky's body. It was like a banshee wail. She shivered violently, and Stiles moved closer, slinging an arm around her shoulders and tucking her close to him, fingers running over the sleeve of her leather jacket.

"Stop, stop," Stiles held up a hand, leaning against the desk. "The door's not gonna keep it out." They all paused for the first time since they had seen the Alpha spear Derek with his claws, and it only took them a second to realise that they were all exhausted.

"I know."

"The Alpha," Stiles turned to Scott, his face a mask of seriousness that was unfamiliar when it came to Stiles. "It's your boss."

"What?" Scott looked up from the desk, staring at Stiles incredulously.

"Deaton, your boss." Stiles reiterated, starting to look annoyed.

"He's the Alpha," Skyler finished what Stiles had started to say.

"No," Scott replied weakly, sounding thoroughly unconvinced that he was right.

"Yes," Stiles snapped, stepping forward. "Psycho murdering Alpha!"

"That can't be." Scott seemed to be trying more to reassure himself now, rather than the other two, that his boss was innocent.

"Oh, come on." Stiles drawled out, his face scrunched up angrily. "He disappears, and that thing shows up ten seconds later to toss Derek twenty feet through the air?! That's not convenient timing?"

"It's not him," Scott insisted again.

Skyler took a few steps forward, moving out from under Stiles' arm. She walked up to Scott and grabbed his shoulders, giving him a gentle shake. "For Christ's sake, Scotty! It HAS to be him!"

"He killed Derek!" Skyler heard Stiles snap from behind her. Skyler stiffened, her clenching her jaw and squaring her shoulders. She let go of Scott and spun on her heel to face Stiles.

"Don't you dare say that, Stilinski!" She shouted, brandishing a shaking index finger in his face. "Derek is gonna be fine!"

"She's right," Scott said, stepping forward and squeezing her shoulder comfortingly. He spoke calmly, but his voice trembled slightly. "No, Derek's not dead. He can't be dead."

"Blood spurted out of his mouth, okay?" Stiles snapped, voice bordering on a shout, stepping closer to Skyler. "That doesn't exactly qualify as a minor injury. He's dead and we're next!"

Skyler took a large step forward, moving until she was almost chest to chest with Stiles. "Derek is NOT dead! Do you hear me Stilinski?! He is a goddamn werewolf, and he can heal! He has come back from worse than this, and he will come back from this one too! So don't you dare stand there and act like he is already a lost cause!"

Stiles clutched her shoulders, steadying her where she stood. "Derek might be able to heal, but d'you know who can't? Us. We cannot heal, Skyler. So if the Alpha comes after us, we die! Understand?!" Stiles' voice was getting louder and louder, and he was moving ever so slightly closer to Skyler. "So we need to spend less time focusing on whether or not Derek is alive, and focus on making a plan and getting out of here, then we can look for him. Okay?" Skyler nodded mutely. Her eyes were wide and her lips were parted slightly. His brown eyes bored into hers with a spine tingling intensity. She felt like her vision was narrowing until Stiles was all she could see.

"Okay, just..." Scott's voice broke through the silence, pulling Stiles and Sky's attention away from each other. Skyler found it incredibly hard to break away from Stiles' gaze. It made her feel warm all over and sent tingles racing up and down her body. Which she knew was completely inappropriate at that moment, but she couldn't help it. They pulled apart, and she looked over at Scott who had begun to twitch anxiously. "What are we going to do?" He asked, glancing at the window, then to the still open door.

"Escape?" Skyler interjected, voice light. Both boys looked over at her, rolling their eyes. "What? I was just trying to be helpful."

"We get to my Jeep," Stiles started, looking at Sky and then back over to Scott. "Then we get out of here and you seriously think about quitting your job, good?" Scott and Skyler nodded in affirmation, everyone hurrying over to the windows that gave them a side view of the parking lot. Scott placed a hand on one of the windows and tried to push it outwards, putting as much effort as he could into it.

"No, they don't open," Stiles told Scott, still staring at the window, judging how far the Jeep was from the school. "The school's climate controlled."

"Then we break it," Scott supplied.

"Yeah, just put a freakin' chair through the window." The knowledge that the windows didn't open was making Skyler feel a tad claustrophobic. She felt Stiles place his hand on the space between her shoulders, just to show that he was there.

"Which will make a lot of noise," Stiles explained, and he just sounded like he was so sick of having to explain simple things like that.

"Then, uh, we run really fast." Scott said offering a near perfect solution, aside from the fact that the Jeep was pretty far away, and only one of the three had werewolf speed. He looked at the distance from the school to the Jeep again. "Really fast."

Sky leaned her head against the window, breathing out slowly. The condensation gathered on the glass by her mouth and she had a near irresistible urge to draw a little picture in the water vapour.

"Stiles?" Skyler looked up at the questioning tone of Scott's voice. "What's wrong with your Jeep?"

"What d'you mean?" He snapped, worriedly, following Scott's gaze. "Nothing's wrong."

"It's bent."

"What, like, dented?" Stiles replied, pushing forward to Scott's side and bringing Skyler with him.

"No, I mean bent." Scott insisted firmly, staring over at the Jeep in shock.

"Holy shit, Stiles. He's right," Skyler agreed, peering through the window at the Jeep. The entire bonnet of the car was bent right in the middle, like something had been dropped on it from a great height. "It's looks like it caved in."

"What the hell...?" Stiles muttered, pressing even closer to Sky, but he didn't have time to finish his sentence.

The window above them smashed as something was hurled through it with considerable force. Skyler shrieked in fear, diving to the floor. She pressed herself into the child's pose, internally thanking God for yoga, and threw her arms around her head. She saw Scott throw himself to the ground next to her, and felt a heavy weight press itself on top of her. Skyler knew that it was Stiles draped across her, covering her body with his, arms around her chest, head pressed to the back of her neck. Once the tinkling noise of the glass falling had stopped, the three of them raised up slightly, peering around to see what had crashed through the window.

There was a black box in the middle of the room, wires sticking out and deep gouges from what Sky assumed werewolf claws, covered in a thin layer of glass. Skyler had absolutely no idea what it was but assumed that Stiles did, as he straightened up more and let out an angry breath.

"That's my battery," he ground out, clenching a fist in irritation.

"Well the Jeep is no longer an escape option," Skyler's voice was shaky, and she clenched her hands into fists, nails digging into her palms. Stiles got his feet under him and started to climb to his feet, trying to see out the shattered window. Skyler wrapped her arms around his waist hurriedly, pulling him back down. "Please don't," she whispered, wrapping herself around him as much as possible to keep him on the floor.

Stiles spoke slowly, cupping Sky's chin with his hand and turning her to face him. "I won't let anything happen to you, I swear it."

"It's not me I'm worried about, I can look after myself." Skyler reached into her inner jacket pocket and pulling out her Swiss army knife which she had pocketed before leaving her house that evening. Stiles' eyes widened as she showed him the sharpest of the switchblades on the contraption. He was a tad scared and shocked that his tiny five foot four friend, that looked like she could be blown away if there was a strong enough wind, was now brandishing a knife. It was also kind of a turn on for him though.

"We have to move," Stiles told her, pulling back slightly and she let go of him.

"He could be right outside," Scott threw back.

"He _is_ right outside."

"Just let me take a look," Scott pleaded, doing his best puppy dog eyes expression for Stiles. His friend wavered for a second before giving a small nod, and Scott pushed himself up to peek out of the classroom window.

"Anything?" Stiles hissed after a few seconds.

"No," Scott replied, sinking back down a bit.

"Move now?"

"Move now," Scott and Skyler agreed in unison.

All three stood, Scott moving slowly across the floor, Stiles and Sky following him. Skyler was concentrating on being as quiet as possible, placing one foot in front of another, trying her hardest not to let the leather squeak. Instead she managed to make an almost impossibly loud noise by stepping on a little pile of broken glas, which cracked and crunched under her feet. She gave a small gasp, tensing at the sound and spinning to look out the window, hoping against hope that it had not attracted the attention of the Alpha.

"It's okay." Stiles' mouth was almost touching her cheek as he whispered into her ear, his hand snaking down to clasp hers. She looked back at him, nodding, and squeezing his hand. She was so glad that he was there with her. She had known that they were dealing with a werewolf problem, but this? This was way beyond anything she had anticipated, and it felt very comforting to have Stiles holding tight to one hand, and have her Swiss army knife clutched in the other.

They trailed out into the corridor, glancing up and down to try and decide which way to go.

"This way," Scott muttered, moving down the hallway to the right.

"No, no, no, no," Stiles stopped him, flinging out an arm.

"What?" Scott hissed in response.

"Somewhere without windows," Stiles explained.

"Uh, Stiles, we're in a school, which means..." Sky started, her voice soft.

"Every room in the building has windows!" Scott snapped, spreading his arms to try and encompass the entire school.

"Or somewhere with less windows," Stiles murmured gently, contemplating where they could possibly hide out.

"The locker room."

"Good idea," Skyler grinned weakly at Scott.

"Yeah," Stiles nodded and pulled Sky's hand gently, starting to speed walk in the direction of the locker rooms, Scott taking the lead.

The quick walk to the locker room was silent. Everyone was much too on edge to speak, too frightened of attracting the Alpha to even breathe too loudly. They pushed the door open as gently as they could and slipped in through the opening. Skyler's nose screwed up in disgust at the smell in there. It was like dead things, really sweaty dead thing. And cheap aftershave.

"Call your dad," Scott told Stiles, rounding on him as they stood inbetween the rows of lockers.

"And tell him what?" Stiles flailed the arm that wasn't holding Skyler's wildly.

"I don't know, anything," Scott said desperately. "Gas leak, a fire, whatever. If that thing sees the parking lot filled with cop cars, it'll take off."

"I'm not so sure that that's a good idea, Scotty," Skyler bit her lip, looking between the two boys. She could see that Stiles hated the idea of having his dad involved in any way. "If you and Derek, the werewolves, didn't scare him, I don't think that some cops would."

"What if it doesn't take off? What if it goes completely Terminator and kills every cop in sight, including my dad?" Stiles asked, and Sky could feel his hand start to shake at the prospect of his dad facing down the Alpha. She squeezed his fingers, and ran her other hand up and down his arm soothingly. He jumped when he noticed that she still had the knife in her hand. She grinned apologetically and tucked it back into her pocket.

"They have guns," Scott reason, albeit weakly.

"Yeah, and Derek had to be shot with a wolfsbane-laced bullet to even slow him down! Remember that?" Stiles snapped back at his friend.

"And he's a Beta, Scott." Skyler looked at the young werewolf, trying to convey the discomfort that his best friend was feeling. "And this is an Alpha, what the hell would it take to keep him down?"

"Then we...we have to," Scott looked conflicted for a second, then a grim determination overtook his face. "We have to find a way out and just run for it."

"There's nothing around the school for at least a mile," Stiles brought up just another one of the myriad problems that they were facing tonight.

"What about Derek's car?" Scott suggested, voice hopeful.

"That could work," Stiles nodded feverishly, leg twitching. "We go outside, we get the keys off his body, ugh, and we take his car."

"And him, because he's not dead, Stiles!" Skyler exclaimed, slapping the back of her free hand off his chest.

"Fine. Whatever," Stiles agreed, grudgingly.

They turned back to the door, shuffling together as a group. Stiles reached out, hand reaching for the doorknob, when Scott threw his arm out, effectively halting them.

"What?" Sky hissed, furrowing in her brows in confusion at the look of pure concentration on Scott's face.

"I think I heard something," Scott whispered, not looking at either of the other two.

"Like what?" Stiles asked, quietly and urgent.

"Quiet."

Scott took a halting step back, and Stiles and Skyler moved with him. She drew herself in closer to Stiles, needing to feel the warmth of his body to remind herself that she wasn't alone.

"Hide!" Scott whisper-yelled, flapping his hands to scatter them. He darted for a locker, tugging in open and sliding himself inside, pulling the door after him.

Stiles and Sky sprinted to the nearest row, Stiles hauling one of the lockers open and pressing himself inside it. Skyler grabbed the door of the locker next to his and pulled it hard. Fuck. It was locked. She scuttled to the locker on the other side of Stiles', trying to open it for a moment before realising that it was also locked. She slammed her hand against the metal, hissing in frustration. Her heartbeat had risen wildly as she could now hear the faint but unmistakable sound of foot steps.

"Get in!" Stiles' locker flew open and his arm snaked out, tightening around her bicep and tugging her into the locker with him. She only had a second of light before the door closed but it was enough to see that it was Stiles' gym locker that they were hiding in. It had his lacrosse jersey hanging on the only rail and it smelled of the cinnamon aftershave she was so used to by now.

"Shhhh."

Stiles' mouth was pressed against her neck, just over her jugular. His head had to be bent in order for him to fit himself in the locker and it was tucked neatly into the crook of Skyler's neck. She could feel the vibration from his lips run through her body and had to fight back a moan. It was possibly the worst time to be in this situation with Stiles. They were in a life-or-death situation, and all she could think of was the warmth of Stiles' body against hers. They were pressed together to be able to fit both of them in and it felt like there wasn't a part of her body that wasn't touching his. Sky's arms had slid up around his neck, fingers splayed across the nape. One of Stiles' arms had wrapped around her, hand pressing in on the small of her back under her jacket and just resting at the hem of her shirt. The other hand was cupping the back of her head, holding it against his collarbone.

She shivered as she felt him breathe out, and spread his fingers across her back, tracing the bottom of her spine. What the hell was he doing?

"Sky." The word was so gentle, let out in a breath, that Skyler wasn't sure she heard it. Her breath hitched in her throat as she felt Stiles duck his head slightly, pressing his open mouth to the column of her throat. She gasped at the sudden sensation and wondered if it could possibly be that she was dreaming. That she had never even accompanied them to the school, that maybe she had dreamed up this entire night. But nothing had ever felt so real as Stiles' lips on her skin.

"Skyler." He breathed out again, separating his mouth from her neck for a moment before pressing it back down, harder than before.

"Stiles, what the fuck?" She managed to gasp out in between laboured breaths, trying to keep her voice down as much as she could. But he didn't have time to answer. The door of the locker room creaked open and they both froze, still embracing and still with Stiles' lips against her body. They heard the patter of footprints making their way around the locker room until they stopped just outside the locker that Stiles and Sky were inside of. They drew closer together, Stiles' hand fisting in the fabric of her shirt.

"Son of a bitch!"

The locker door had been flung open with a yell. Skyler stumbled out backwards, her legs scrabbling to find purchase on the tiled floor, arms windmilling and letting out a scream. Her back hit the row of lockers opposite, and it was only then that she realised that it was the school's janitor that had so unceremoniously thrown the door open. She looked up to see Stiles tumble out after her, giving out a high pitched shriek. Another locker door banged open so violently that it ricocheted off the other lockers and Scott had to throw himself out quickly in order to avoid being hit by the metal door.

"Quiet!" Stiles muttered, trying to calm the older man. He glanced over at Skyler and she had to look away, her face flushing red and her hand moving up to cover the spot on her neck that was still burning.

"Quiet my ass! What the hell are you trying to do, kill me?" After so long spent in deafening silence, the janitor's voice was loud enough to hurt Sky's ear. She wanted to tell him to shut his mouth, to keep it the fuck down before they were all killed, but she couldn't seem to get the words out. "All three of you get out!"

"Will you just listen to us for half a second, okay?" Stiles begged, glaring at the janitor.

"Not okay," the janitor snapped back, herding the two boys towards the door. Skyler waited for a second, fingers still running over the tender spot of her neck, before trailing after the three of them, biting her thumbnail. "Get the hell out of here right now!" He pushed the boys out through the door and stood to the side holding it open and waiting for Skyler to catch up and leave.

"God, just one second to explain," Stiles implored, spinning around to face the janitor.

"Just shut up and go," he told them, gesturing down the hall with his finger, glaring at all three of them in turn.

Skyler was only a foot from the door when it slammed closed. The Alpha barreled into the janitor from the side, knocking the door closed in the process. The last thing Skyler saw was Stiles lunging forward, a terrified look spreading across his features. She threw herself backwards, falling on her ass and shuffling across the floor. Sky didn't give a thought to the fact that it was probably the most disease ridden floor she had ever encountered. The Alpha raised up, spearing the janitor, just like he had done with Derek, and slammed the man against the frosted glass of the locker room door. Blood ran down it in rivulets, and it was all Sky could do to not scream until her throat was raw.

"SKY! SKYLER!"

She could hear Stiles roaring her name on the other side of the door thumping it with his fists. She pushed herself further, hoping that the Alpha had, by some miracle, not noticed her, or was at least too busy to bother with her. She shuffled around the row of lockers, still on her ass. Stiles had fallen quiet and she hoped that Scott had managed to get him to safety. She pressed her back against the cool metal, letting her head onto her knees. Skyler bit her tongue to keep herself from sobbing, and wrapped her arms around her head, wondering what the hell she was going to do.


	13. She's Not Dead

_**AN: Hey, I now it's been a little while and I'm sorry for that. I'm putting up two chapters tonight, the first one is kinda short and it's Stiles' thoughts after the end of the last chapter, but the second one is about 13,000 words and it gets back to the main story. Thanks to everyone for all the follows and favourites and especially the really sweet reviews! You guys are the best. This one has some light sexual content, so just a warning before you start to read. Hope you enjoy! Keep reviewing! XXX**_

She was dead. Sky was dead. Skyler Gray was dead.

Scott had been the one with asthma, but right now Stiles felt like he couldn't breathe. They were running again, so much fucking running tonight. He didn't even notice where they were going, he just followed the shape that was Scott in front of him. He couldn't make out Scott in detail because of the tears blurring his eyes.

They had left Sky, his best friend and possibly something more, in the goddamn locker room with the Alpha. If he had killed her, if her had laid on hand on her, Stiles was going to rip the Alpha apart limb from limb. He would not... No. He could not lose her. She was his closest friend apart from Scott, and she was quickly growing to be something much more than that.

He had woken up that morning, sweaty and shaking. His mind had been overrun by memories of his dream. Usually they started off the same; he was working on his homework or his research or whatever he was doing, and then his door would open and he would look up to see Lydia. She was usually soaked through from the rain that pounded against the window in his imagination. She would walk to the middle of the room and he would stand up and rush to meet her, offering her clean clothes and a warm shower. She would look at him, biting her bottom lip. She was usually wearing a white shirt that clung to her chest and left almost nothing to be desired. She would reach up and unbutton her shirt, one button at a time and then slip it off her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor, displaying her completely nude self underneath.

But last night. Last night. Stiles had been working, well Dream Stiles, and he heard the door creak open. He stood up and turned around, ready to enjoy the closest he was going to get to any real sexual activity with a beautiful girl. But instead of being met with wavy red hair and pouting lips, he was greeted with long strands of honey blond hair, piercing green eyes and a lazy smile that he now knew so well.

"Skyler?"

"Heya, Stilinski," she laughed, walking to the center of the room. Stiles noticed that she was wearing nothing but his lacrosse jersey, which was dripping on the carpet and her bare feet. She smirked at Stiles, knowing the effect it was having on him.

"Uh, y-y-you're soaked." He stuttered, taking a faltering step towards her. "You need some dry clothes, Sky?" It was odd, the dream that had become so damn predictable was flying off script.

"Nah, being dressed is so overrated, you get me?" She reached down to the hem of her shirt, crossing her arms and taking hold of the fabric. She lifted it up and over her head, causing Stiles mouth to drop open. She wasn't naked underneath, she was wearing a maroon bra and panties, with a white '24' emblazoned on one bra cup. Somehow, that was even hotter than Lydia Martin being naked. Now that was a talent.

She pressed forward, aggressively pushing her lips against Stiles'. He stumbled back in surprise, the back of his knees hitting the bed and he collapsed on it, Sky falling in top of him. She giggled, pressing her lips to his collarbone and sucking hard. She drew back as he moaned in pleasure, pushing herself up onto her hands and knees, her sweet smile seeming much more seductive in this situation.

"Are you just gonna lie there or you gonna help me out?" Skyler grinned down at him, biting her bottom lip. "I can't get myself off on my own, Stiles."

His confidence building at her words, he grabbed her hips and rolled them over so that he was on top. He ducked his head, kissing her hard for a second before making his way up her jaw and to her neck. He sucked on her pulse point for a minute, listening to her needy whines. He placed sloppy kisses down her neck, kissing down her chest until he reached the valley of her breasts. He kissed her hard, right inbetween her breasts, and smiled against her skin as he heard her gasp.

He was uncomfortably hard when he woke up and had to spend twenty minutes in a very cold shower before school that morning. All through school he had to stop himself staring at Sky, picturing what was underneath those clothes. It was even worse when they were at her house alone, lying on her bed, listening to music side-by-side and all he wanted to do was tear everything off her and see did his imagination do that beautiful girl any justice.

And when they were in the locker together, bodies pressed tightly against each other. Skyler smelled like coconut and her breath was warm on his skin. He had been trying so hard not to act on how he felt, not touch her or kiss her, or do anything that would make her uncomfortable. It was not an appropriate time to be thinking of her that way, to be thinking of the way she looked lying underneath him, back arched, eyes screwed shut, bottom lip inbetween her teeth, to be thinking of the noise she made when she...

And then he had had to think of very unsexy thoughts to keep himself under control. But he had cracked, he had pressed his lips against her neck and felt the heat of her skin. She had tensed and asked what the fuck he was doing, but he couldn't stop himself pulling back and kissing her again. She hadn't even looked at him when they fell out of the locker, she had probably been disgusted with him. Disgusted that he would take advantage of her in a situation like that.

All these thoughts ran through Stiles' head, remembering the first time he had seen her smile, or laugh, when they had gone bowling, or she stayed over one night and forced him to watch all of season one of 'Dexter'.

"Stiles!"

Scott was standing a few meters behind him. Stiles hadn't even noticed that Scott had stopped running until he had called his name.

"She's gonna be okay, Stiles." Scott's voice was low, and walked over to Stiles, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Sky's strong, Stiles. We'll go back and find her but right now, we gotta run. Okay?"

Stiles wiped a hand across his cheek, brushing away a few tears that he hadn't noticed falling. Skyler wasn't dead, couldn't be dead. He didn't have time to tell her, tell her how he felt and how no one else was good enough for her, how no one else knew her like he did, how no one else would treat her as good as he would. But he could say all that when they found her. Because Skyler Gray. Was. Not. Dead.

"Stiles," Scott asked again, and he looked up at his floppy-haired best friend. "Okay?"

"Okay," Stiles agreed, nodded. And so they ran.


	14. Night School Part II

"I'm going to fucking die."

The thought kept flying around and around in Skyler's head as she slumped on the ground, fighting back tears. She could hear the Alpha still tearing at the janitor, the sound of the wet flesh ripping was only drowned out by the screams of the dying man. It was a sound that Sky knew would never leave her.

The ragged breaths were starting to calm as the werewolf finished with the older man, and started to move further into the locker room, his claws tapping the tiles gently. Skyler held her breath, head poking around the corner of the locker just enough to see what was happening. She bit down hard on her finger to stop herself from screaming. The janitor was torn apart. Literally. There were claw marks across his stomach and torso, innards practically spilling out onto the floor. His blood pooled around him, leaking further and further across the room. It was nearly touching her at this point.

Skyler pushed herself up onto her knees and stuck her whole head around the locker. The Alpha was nowhere to be seen, but that did little to comfort her. She was much more worried when she couldn't see him. She froze as a little clatter sounded from across the room. She gave a little whimper, glancing quickly in the direction that the sound had come from. She crawled forward as fast as possible, skirting around the janitor's body, shuddering in disgust and rounding another row of lockers, leading her into the shower block.

She stood up, legs cramping as she straightened up. She pressed herself against the wall, side-stepping along. She heard the Alpha's tapping grow louder, accompanied for a moment by a wet squelching sound and a sniff. Sky gagged, realising that the Alpha was clambering over the janitor's body. She paused, waiting for the werewolf to start moving again, but all she heard was a rough dragging sound. Skyler scooted back to the opening of the shower block and leaned around the corner. The Alpha had the janitor's collar in his claws and was walking slowly backwards, away from the locker room door and the shower block, heading in the direction of the gym.

Skyler breathed out a sigh of relief, trying to stop her hands from shaking. She waited until it was out of sight and then gave it another minute or two before darting across to the door of the locker room. She grabbed the handle trying to twist it but it wouldn't move. She tried to pull the door open, grasping the doorknob and leaning her whole weight backwards, grunting in frustration.

A growl tore through the air behind her.

Skyler tensed, knowing what was coming next. She pivoted slowly on her heel, turning to face the Alpha, crouched at the opposite end of the room. It was snarling, lips drawn back, not so much threatening as mocking. She reached inside her jacket slowly, one arm stretched out in front of her like she was trying to soothe an angry dog. Her finger's wrapped around the handle of her Swiss army knife and pulled it out, flipping up one of the blades. She brandished it at the Alpha, staring it straight in the eye and letting the words roll off her tongue like a soft spoken war cry.

"Screw you. I am not afraid."

He lunged for her, barely letting her finish her sentence before springing forward. Skyler rolled to the side, tucking her arms in close to her side. She came out of the roll, and pushed herself up onto her knees. The Alpha was just landing in the spot she had vacated seconds earlier. Skyler brought her knife arm up and stabbed it down as hard as she could through the Alpha's paw that was nearest to her. He roared in pain, his head turning to face hers, jaws snapping a few inches from her face. She twisted the blade, digging it in deeper until she felt it go right through its paw. The Alpha tried to pull away from her and tumbled over, one of his legs still pinned to the ground by Sky's butterfly knife.

Skyler hauled the knife back out and spun, leaping to her feet and ducking back into the shower block. She heard an angry growl from behind her, but didn't bother to turn and check it out. She could smell the salty tang of blood behind her and grinned to herself. She could hear the Alpha climbing to it's feet but she had enough of a head start to make difference. She planted a hand on the shower wall and used it to skid around the corner. Skyler laughed at the insane amount of adrenaline flowing around her body as she hurdled a bench and dashed through the open door to Coach Finstock's office.

She kicked the door closed behind her and grabbed his desk, tugging it in front of the door she had just run through. Her eyes scanned the room for something else to block the door. Her eyes fell on a ratty green couch sitting underneath some medals from when the Coach played lacrosse. She wriggled behind it and pushed it over to the desk, wedging it in at a perpendicular angle between the desk and the wall opposite. It only just fit in the gap, leaving an inch or two on either side. Let the Alpha try and open it now.

She hurdled over the back of the couch, moving to the other door in the room that led out into one of the school's many corridors. She grabbed the door handle, pushing and pulling and turning it every which way she could. But it was locked, just like every other fucking door in this school. She shouted unintelligibly in frustration kicking the door then wincing in pain. She turned back around, leaning in the back of the couch. Something was wrong, but she wasn't quite sure what. The spun on the spot for a few seconds before it hit her. She couldn't hear the Alpha.

He had definitely been chasing her as she left the locker room, she had heard him snarling at snapping at her as she had run, but now as she could hear was the sound of her own breath. She stepped onto the cushions of the couch and then moved to kneel on the desk, crawling forward until she was close enough to press her ear to the locker room door. Skyler couldn't hear anything from the other side, no claws tapping, no heavy Alpha breathing, no snarls, no flesh ripping. The silence was almost more terrifying than staring the Alpha down, face to face.

Sky pushed herself back off the desk, dropping back onto the couch and crouching down onto her haunches. She pulled open the top desk drawer, searching desperately for the keys for the office door. The first drawer was empty of anything except some useless sheets of lacrosse stats hiding a half drunk bottle of vodka. She tutted, smiling fondly. She really did like Coach Finstock. She dropped it back in, moving onto the second drawer. That held nothing but lacrosse players' files. Unhelpful. She couldn't even open the third or fourth drawer because it was blocked by the couch. She sat back onto her heels on the couch, eyes scanning the room. The little key bowl on the desk was empty and nothing hung on the hook by the door.

Skyler threw herself down on the couch, laying out on her back, throwing her legs over the arm that was pressed against the desk, and dropping her head to rest on the other.

"Ow! Fuck!"

She shot back up, pissed off that her little rest had been disturbed by whatever she had banged her head off of. She spun around as best she could on her knees, turning to see what it was. There was a set of golf clubs wedged between the couch and the wall. She laughed quietly at the image of the Coach teeing up, wearing his diamond patterned sweater vest and golf pants with the socks pulled up. She had to laugh right now, because if she didn't she would probably cry at her situation. She plucked one out of the case, placing it over her shoulder like a baseball bat before taking an experimental swing. There was a loud crash as the club connected with an ornate glass ashtray, that looked completely unused, and knocked it to the ground where it shattered into pieces.

"Whoops. Wait. Light bulb. I gotta stop talking to myself."

Skyler grinned, turning to the door as a brilliant idea popped into her head. She hopped over the back of the couch, walking back to the office door. There was a large window of frosted glass in the door, definitely big enough for someone her size to fit through. She stepped to the side, holding the golf club out at arm's length, making sure that the thick end of the club lined up the glass. She took a practice swing, stopping just before she made contact with the glass, and then she took another. When Sky was sure that it was going to work, she took a deep, calming breath and swung the club with all her might.

The smashing sound was so loud it hurt. There was no small hole with spiderweb cracks spreading out like Skyler had expected, instead the glass exploded outwards spilling onto the hall floor, glass dropping with a tinkling sound, like rain. She let the club fall to the floor next to her and slipped off her jacket, wrapping it around her right hand. She used it to pick all of the extra pieces of glass out of the frame. Once she was done, Sky shook out her jacket, making sure all of the tiny shards were gone before slipping it back on. She picked up a swivel chair, hoisting it over the couch and placing it just under the broken window.

Sky scooped up her golf club, and stepped up onto the chair. She held onto the frame of the now nonexistent window and trying not to let the chair spin under her feet. Once she had gained her balance she threw the gold club into the hall and raised her arms, fingers gripping the top of the door frame. Skyler flexed her practically useless muscles once or twice before tightening her hold on the door and raising herself up like she was on a pull up bar. She brought her legs up to her chest, sliding her feet through the gap in the door. She let her legs drop through the door and let go. There was absolutely nothing graceful about the way she exited the office. Skyler smacked her ass off the window frame, having to wriggle slightly to fit her hips through, the tiny leftover shards of glass tore at her back, pulling the hem of her shirt up and leaving scratches up her back. She raised her arms above her head, having to brace them on the door and push her chest through the opening. She finally dropped to the floor, landing on her feet then overbalancing and falling to her knees.

Sky laughed in triumph, raising her arms above her head in a Rocky-esque celebration of victory. She pushed herself up onto one knee, legs shaking. Taking a minute to catch her breath, she leaned against the door, doubling over to pick up her golf club. With the other hand, Sky patted down her jeans and jacket. She spent a minute searching her pockets before remembering that she had thrown her phone into the door well in the Jeep earlier after texting Rebecca to tell her that she was going to study at Stiles'. She would just have to find them the old fashioned way, by wandering aimlessly through the enormous school and hope that she found either Scott or Stiles before the Alpha found her.

Her first task was to find a map and get her bearings. Right now, Sky wasn't sure where she was in relation to anywhere else in the building besides the Coach's office and the boys' locker room. She took off down the hall directly in front of her, then took a left and a right, then left at a fork in the hallway. It took her nearly five minutes to find a bulletin board with a little map of the school on it. She was a corridor away from the pool, and if she cut through there, she could take a right at the biology lab and then another right and she would be in the lobby.

Skyler jogged as silently as possible to the swimming pool, pausing just outside the double doors. She was sure she could hear someone moving around in there. It couldn't be Scott and Stiles, because there was no way they'd split up, and Sky could only hear one pair of footsteps. It could be the Alpha in his human form. If Sky stayed quiet for another minute she could surprise him, and hopefully beat the living shit out of him. She pressed herself against the doors, staying low, golf club poised on her shoulder. She just had to wait until it came close enough that it would be within clubbing distance. She heard the person grow closer and closer to the door until they were just on the other side.

Sky threw herself forwards through the door, yelling and swinging the golf club . She heard a very effeminate scream and saw a flash of dark hair dropping to the floor. The club connected with the tiled wall, harsh vibrations running up the metal handle and making her whole arm shake.

"Skyler?!"

She looked down at the figure sprawled on the ground. "Allison?! What the hell are you doing here?"

"I was meant to be going out with Scott tonight, but he never showed," Allison told her. Skyler held out a hand, grasping Allison's and pulling her to her feet. Allison's eyes were wide and she was chewing nervously on her bottom lip. "And then I got this text from him to meet him at the school, so Lydia and Jackson drove me over, but know I don't know where they are, and Scott just called and told me to meet him in the lobby and something bad's going on, I know it."

"Lydia and Jackson are here?" Allison nodded, trying to calm herself down. Skyler huffed and ran her hands through her hair before realising that they were coated in something sticky. She looked down at them and blanched. They were smeared with blood. She remembered throwing herself to the ground in the locker room, her hands landing in the janitor's blood as she stabbed the Alpha. "Fuck. Alright. Where was Scott? Did he say anything else? Is he okay? Was Stiles with him?!"

"All he said was to go to the lobby straight away." Allison placed her hands on Sky's shoulder's, fingers digging into the skin. "Let's go, and you can ask him yourself when we get there. And you guys need to explain what the hell is going on."

Skyler gave a short nod in agreement, turning away from the door to cross the room. They walked in silence, making their way through the pool's changing rooms and back into the maze of corridors. Sky held the golf club out in front of her, wielding it like a sword. It made her feel powerful, even though she knew she could probably never take down an actual Alpha werewolf with just that.

"So, what the hell were you doing here anyway?" Allison's question made her heart jump in her chest. Sky hated having to lie to her friend, it was the same sick feeling that she had had when she told Lydia that it had been a mountain lion that had attacked them at the video store.

"Oh, Stiles, uh," Sky racked her brain for a moment, searching for any reasonable excuse. "He forgot his geography book."

"I didn't know Stiles did geography," Allison looked at her skeptically. "I take geography and Stiles isn't in it. He also told me that he didn't take that subject before."

Fuck.

"Did I say geography?" Sky laughed nervously, giving her a weak grin. "I meant... chemistry."

Allison snorted disbelievingly, glaring at Skyler. "So why did Scott want me to come to the school of you guys had just stopped to get a chem book? And why are you holding a golf club?" Allison snapped.

"You'll have to ask him," Sky tried to avoid answering the question properly. "And I just borrowed it. From Coach."

They took the first right, turning into another pitch black hallway. She felt Allison draw closer to her, shivering. Sky moved almost imperceptibly in front of her friend, tightening her grip on the golf club. The patter of their shoes were unnerving, the only noise in the otherwise empty hallway. Allison was scared due to the fact that they were on their own in an abandoned school, Skyler was scared because she knew that there was a giant Alpha werewolf prowling around.

They stopped at the corner, pressing their backs to the wall. Sky put a finger to her lips, shushing Allison, before poking her head around the corner. The lobby was a few meters down the next hallway and a small flight of steps. She jerked her head to the side before turning the corner and jogging down to the lobby, Allison on her heels. Just as she hopped down the steps, Sky heard more footsteps running into the lobby from the opposite direction. She held the club out, stopping Allison in her tracks. Just as they were about to backtrack, Scott skidded into the lobby, sliding across the floor.

"Why did you come?!" He demanded, staring right past Skyler at Allison, who sidestepped the golf club and moved to Scott in the middle of the room. "What are you doing here?!"

"Stiles..." Sky whispered, eyes darting around, looking for the teen. "Scott, where's-"

Stiles tripped into the room, nearly going headfirst down the steps. He was breathing heavily and had obviously been running very fast for quite a while. His head snapped when he heard Scott and Allison talking. His eyes scanned them for a moment, before passing over them and moving to Skyler, who was still standing behind them, brandishing her golf club. His brown eyed were slightly bloodshot and puffy like he had been crying.

"Skyler."

They both started to run at the same time, Sky skirting around Scott and Allison. They collided just behind Scott, Stiles hitting her so hard she stumbled back a few feet into their werewolf friend. She dropped the golf club, letting it fall at her feet. Her arms wrapped around his neck, holding him as tight as she could until she was nearly choking him. He gripped her waist, burying his face in her hair. She was several inches shorter than him, and when he held her that tight she was lifted right off the ground. She nearly sobbed into his neck in relief. She hadn't even entertained the thought that something had happened to him, it was too much to even consider, but it was still a huge relief to have him in her arms, with solid proof that he wasn't dead.

"Are you okay?" He murmured into her hair, letting her fall back to the ground.

"I'm fine. You?" She wasn't sure that he even heard her, her voice was too muffled against his skin. Her face flushed darkly as she remembered the last time that they had touched, when they were shut in the locker together. Her entire body tingled at the memory of the feel of his lips and the soft warmth of his skin.

He took a step back, holding her at arm's length and searching her body for any injuries. His eyes ran over her bloodied hands, which she had tried to wipe off on her pants. He picked them up, holding them close to his face and inspecting them.

"What the hell happened?" Stiles' eyes were filled with worry, taking her chin and tilting her head so that he could look her right in the eyes.

"It's not my blood. It's the janitor's." Skyler whispered, making sure Allison couldn't hear. "I'll tell you later, when we're not around Ally."

"Did you drive here?" Stiles cut in, staring at Allison.

"Jackson did," she squeaked back. She was holding her phone up for Scott to see. Sky stepped over, glancing at the screen.

'Meet me at the school. URGENT - Scott.'

She looked up over Allison's shoulder at Scott. He shook his head vigorously, mouthing 'I didn't send it'.

"Jackson's here too?" Scott groaned.

"And Lydia, apparently." Skyler chipped in, grimacing. "But we don't know where they are."

Her stomach clenched painfully at the look on Stiles' face. Pure, unadulterated care and concern. She knew it was selfish and stupid right now and that she should be glad that Stiles cared so much for her best friend, but it just made her jealous. She wanted to be his top priority, the only one Stiles worried about, no matter how immature and childish the notion was.

"What's going on?!" Allison demanded shrilly, "Who sent this text?" She stared pleadingly at Scott who just stared back without saying a word. After a moment, his gaze flickered over to Stiles and Skyler, eyes begging them to tell her what was wrong. Sky just ducked her head, feeling like absolute shit. Stiles' eyes flickered to the ceiling and he rocked backwards and forwards on his heels.

They all jumped as Allison's phone went off, breaking the awkward silence. She shot a final half glare at everyone then looked down at her phone, tapping the answer button and holding it up to her ear.

"Lydia, where are you?"

The double doors across the room from where Skyler and Allison had entered swung open, and Sky bent down and scooped the golf club back up. Lydia and Jackson strode in, both looking thoroughly irritated and a small bit scared.

"Finally," Lydia huffed throwing her phone back in her bag, then glancing up to see Skyler standing there. "Sky, why are you here?" Sky opened her mouth to reply, but never got to the chance to let the words out. "Know what, doesn't matter. Can we go now?"

"Good idea, come on," Sky grabbed Stiles' hand and took a in the direction of the main entrance to the school.

There was a creaking noise overhead, quiet at first, but enough to make everyone fall silent and stand still. And then again, the same creaking noise, but louder and closer, followed by a snapping sound.

"Run." Scott said.

Skyler waited until she had seen all of the others run past her, Stiles tugging on her hand to get her moving, before sprinting after them. She leaped up all three steps at once, pushing herself to move faster and faster. There was a huge thundering crash behind them, and Scott, Stiles and Skyler knew that it was the Alpha crashing through the ceiling and picked up the pace. Sky could only just hear the pounding of Alpha's paws against the floor over the sound of everyone's laboured breathing.

They spun around a corner, all six bumping into each other in their haste. Stiles was gripping her hand tightly, making sure she stayed close as they tried to find somewhere suitable to hide. Skyler was delighted that she had chosen to worn escape savvy boots, unlike Lydia who was struggling to run in her heels. They were halfway down the hallway when she heard a low growl behind them, and turned her head, shooting a glance over her shoulder. The Alpha was turning the corner, sliding uncontrollably on the lino floor.

"Faster, faster, faster!" She shouted, putting on a burst of speed and hauling Stiles along after her.

They crashed through the doors into the cafeteria, spilling apart as they entered. Sky spun on her heel, eyes flying to Scott. He was standing at the door, trying as hard as he could to lock the doors behind him. Jackson stood next to him, looking more scared than angry at this stage.

"Help me get this in front of the door." He darted to a large refrigerator near the door and Jackson followed. They started to drag it over, trying to block the only way into the cafeteria.

"Scott, wait," Stiles let go of Skyler, drifting over to the windows on one side of the room. "Not here."

"What was that, Scott?" Allison sounded terrified, unable to keep her hands still. "What was that?"

"What came through the ceiling?" Lydia asked, her voice shaking. Skyler took a few steps over, taking one of Lydia's hands in hers and looking her best friend square in the face. She felt so sick and absolutely hated herself right now. She wanted to sit Lydia down and explain everything to her, but it was not her secret to tell. She was worried, though. The sight of the Alpha at the video store had torn Lydia up. Skyler had received several middle of the night calls from Lydia, claiming she just wanted to talk or was bored, but Sky could always hear the quiver in Lydia's voice, and knew that it was really nightmares that were keeping her from her sleep.

"Lydia, we just need to focus on staying safe right now, and we can talk later," Sky wrapped an arm around Lydia's shoulders, squeezing her gently. "We can explain."

"Will you just help me?!" Scott exclaimed, finally heaving the refrigerator into place. "The chairs, stack the chairs," he instructed, waving his hands all over the place. They all jumped into action, darting around to grab any furniture they could and pulling it over to the door while Skyler tucked the golf club through the handles of the door.

"Guys, can we wait just a second! You guys, listen to me! Wait!" Stiles was shouting over by the windows, but no one was listening but Skyler, the rest were too busy stacking chairs out of fear. "Guys, Stiles talking!"

"Stiles, could you please help us?" Skyler snapped, holding a three high tower of chairs.

"We needed a room without windows, Sky," Stiles hauled the chairs out of her hands, slamming them down and pushing them away across the floor. He gestured to the wall behind him, comprised nearly completely of windows.

"Oh, shit," Skyler breathed out, eyes widening and sucking in a deep breath.

"Can we hang on one second please?!" Stiles started up, yelling again at the four others that were still stacking chairs and tables against their one escape route. "Hello?"

"STOP!" Skyler shrieked, raising her voice so high that she felt it waver and break.

Scott, Jackson, Lydia and Allison froze, spinning to face the screaming girl.

"Okay, nice work. Really beautiful job everyone," Stiles told them, voice overflowing with sarcasm. He stepped to the side, throwing his arms wide, presenting the windows like they were a grand display. "Now, what are we going to do about the twenty foot wall of windows."

Scott groaned, gripping Allison's hand tighter. Jackson and Lydia were standing close together, but not touching. Stiles took a few small steps over to Skyler, sliding and arm around her waist and pulling her close to him. She could feel him trembling slightly, and wrapped her arms around his waist in return, giving him a quick hug. They locked eyes for a second, and she could see just how scared he was.

"It's gonna be okay," she murmured, resting her head on his chest. It was comforting to hear his heartbeat, the only steady constant in this complete whirlwind of a night.

"Can somebody please explain to me what's going on, 'cause I am freaking out here?" Allison was quiet, voice uneven. Sky had never seen Allison cry, but she could hear the sobs that she was barely holding back. She looked at her boyfriend, begging for him to let her in on the secret. "And I would like to know why, Scott?"

Skyler knew how it felt to be in that position, but knew that it must have been much worse for Allison, seeing as it was Allison's boyfriend that was lying to her and even though Skyler had known that there was something weird going on, it had never gone so far as being trapped in the school with the Alpha while she was still unaware of the werewolf problem. Scott looked back at her, face contorted as he searched for something to tell her. He settled for sighing loudly before walking away, burying his head in his hands.

"Somebody killed the janitor," Stiles spoke out, making everyone turn to him instead. He moved closer to the others, drawing Skyler along with him, but not letting go of her waist.

"What?" Lydia squeaked, eyes focused on Skyler rather than Stiles.

"Yeah," Sky glanced down, not wanting to look any of her friends in the face. "The janitor's dead."

"What's he talking about?" Allison let out a little laugh that was in no was real or convincing. "Is this a joke?"

"Wait," Jackson spoke for the first time since all six of them had met up. "Who killed him?"

No, no, no, no, no," Lydia whispered, eyes still fixed on Skyler, who was still blatantly ignoring her gaze. "This was supposed to be over. The mountain lion killed-"

"No, don't you get it," Jackson snapped, taking a step towards Lydia. He shot an accusatory glare at Skyler before turning back to his girlfriend. "There wasn't a mountain lion!"

"Hey! Back off," Sky snarled, pushing away from Stiles and pushing between Lydia and Jackson. She placed her hands on Jackson's chest, shoving him back a few steps. "Talk to her like that again, and you and I are gonna have a problem."

"Who was it? What does he want?!" Allison's sudden outburst made everyone jump. She was running her hand through her hair, watching Scott is apprehension. He was leaning on a table, entire body was shaking gently. "What's happening? Scott?"

"I - I - I don't know," Scott stammered, glancing at everyone, eyes conflicted. "I - I, I just... If we go out there, he's gonna kill us!"

"Us?" Lydia asked, grabbing Skyler's upper arm and dragging Sky over to stand next to her. "He's gonna kill us?"

"Who?!" Allison demanded of Scott, obviously losing her temper with him. "Skyler?!" She turned to her friend who just held her gaze.

"Ally," Sky whispered, shaking her head. Allison turned away from her, but not before shooting her a look of disappointment.

"Who is it?!" Allison stared at Scott again, her expression filled with hurt.

"It's Derek." Scott straightened up, chin held high, eyes determined. "Derek Hale."

"Excuse me?!" Skyler yelled, eyes wild. Scott avoided her gaze, having the sense to at least look slightly ashamed. She rolled her eyes in her best 'Are-You-Fucking-Kidding-Me-McCall' look. "You're serious?!"

"Skyler," Stiles hissed in her ear, dragging her back to stand with him.

"Derek killed the janitor?" Jackson's voice was filled with a nervousness that was very unusual for him.

"Are you sure?" Allison was shaking her head, disbelief colouring her features.

"I saw him, we all did," Scott insisted, look a bit offended that Allison hadn't believed his complete and utter lie.

"I didn't," Skyler snarled, glaring at the two boys.

"Sky, we really need you to back us up on this," Stiles begged quietly, gripping her arm tight and staring her right in the eyes. She huffed and pulled away from him, but nodded gently.

"The mountain lion..." Lydia started, voice trailing off.

"No!" Scott spoke over her. "Derek killed them."

"All of them?" Sky knew that Ally just wanted to understand what was going on, but her constant questions were giving her a headache.

"Yeah, starting with his own sister."

Skyler felt a rush of horror as she remembered being told about Laura Hale. Laura, Derek and their practically comatose uncle Peter were the last surviving members of the Hale family. With Laura dead at the hands of the Alpha, and Derek missing, presumed dead also at the hands of the Alpha and framed for several murders by Scott, Peter was the last of the Hales. Sky felt for a second like she should visit him after they got through this, but then shook her head and the idea disappeared. Derek could visit him when he healed, because he was not dead.

"The bus driver?" Allison asked weakly, watery eyes still fixed on Scott.

"And the guy in the video store," Scott added, his little rant picking up steam. "It's been Derek the whole time" He's in here with us! And is we don't get out no... he's going to kill us too." By the time he finished, Scott was practically shouting.

Everything was silent for a second until Lydia made a small whimpering noise. Skyler shook Stiles off and darted across to her, pulling her into a hug. Lydia buried her face in Skyler's hair, taking a shuddering breath. She felt someone's eyes on her and looked up to see Jackson watching them, the doubt was evident in his face. She remembered lying on the floor of the video store with Jackson as the Alpha stalked through the aisles, Jackson had seen the Alpha, felt its claws on his neck. There was no way in hell that he'd believe that Derek had committed the murders.

"Call the cops," Jackson demanded, looking at Stiles and Scott.

"No."

Jackson stared at Stiles incredulously. Skyler knew that Stiles didn't want his dad going up against the Alpha because their regular guns wouldn't work on a werewolf, it would be harder to explain why they didn't want the entire Sheriff's department taking on one man.

"Wh-what d'you mean 'no'?"

"I mean no." Stiles' voice was firm and he was staring Jackson down. "You wanna hear it in Spanish? _Noh!_ "

Skyler laughed despite herself, gaining weird looks from everyone but Stiles and Lydia, who was still tucked against her.

"Derek killed three people, okay," Stiles continued, voice growing heated. "We don't know what he's armed with."

"Your dad is armed with the entire Sheriff's department," Jackson growled back, "Call him."

"He said no already, Jackson," Sky let go of Lydia and faced Jackson. "Drop it."

"I'm calling." Lydia rooted in her pocket, pulling out her phone and walking away from the group.

"Lyds, please," Skyler begged softly, moving to take the phone from her friend's hand.

Jackson stepped between them, taking hold of Skyler's shoulders roughly and pushing her back a few steps. She stumbled backwards hitting a chair, Jackson still holding onto her. She pulled up a foot, kicking Jackson viciously in the shin. He let go, cursing at her but backing off. Stiles appeared in front of her, glaring at Jackson like he wanted to kill him.

"Don't touch her again, I'm warning you."

She had never heard Stiles that angry, and it was a bit worrying to say the least. He turned around to face her, his eyes alight with an angry flame.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she replied quietly, not sure what to say to him. "I'm fine."

"Yes, we're at Beacon Hills High School," Lydia told the officer on the other end of the line. "We're trapped and we need you to... but... She hung up on me." She looked shocked, staring at her phone in confusion.

"The police hung up on you?" Allison asked Lydia in disbelief, she nodded in reply.

"Are they even allowed to do that?" Skyler wondered aloud.

"She said they got a tip warning them that there are gonna be prank calls about a break in at the high school," Lydia told them, eyes unfocused. "She said if I called again they're gonna trace the call and have me arrested."

"Okay, then call again," Allison suggested, waving a hand at the phone.

"No, they won't trace a cell," Stiles shook his head, looking at each one of them in turn. "They'll send a car to your house before they send anyone here."

"What the... what... what is this?" Allison turned to Scott, hands running through her hair again. "Why does Derek wanna kill us? Why is he killing anyone?"

Lydia and Jackson swiveled to face Scott again, shuffling to stand closer to Allison. Stiles placed a hand on the small of her back, guiding her over closer to their four friends. Stiles looked at him, searching for any indication that Scott had a plan.

"Why's everyone looking at me?!" He glanced at each of them in turn.

"Oh, well seeing as you know that it was Derek that's been behind all these murders, we thought that maybe you might have some more helpful little insights on the case," Skyler's voice dripped with sarcasm, eyes narrowing as she glared at Scott.

"Sky, enough," Stiles snapped, hauling her backwards by her shirt.

"Is he the one who sent her the text?" Lydia asked.

"No! I mean, I don't know."

"Is he the one that called the police?" Allison spoke up.

"I don't know!"

"Oh," Skyler yelled, still pissed with Scott for blaming Derek, knowing how much trouble Derek would be in with the cops when he popped back up. "But you are absolutely sure that Derek killed everyone. Great fucking work, Magnum PI."

"All right," Stiles said in a soothing voice. "Why don't we just ease back on the throttle here, yeah?"

He twisted his hand in the hem of Skyler's shirt, dragging her behind him as he moved over to Scott, grabbing him by the arm. He led them away from the rest of the group, shushing Sky as she tried to protest. When they were far enough away that they were definitely out of earshot, Stiles released her and Scott, but made sure to stand between them.

"Okay, first off," Stiles started, turning to Scott, and Sky could tell that his patience was wearing thin. "Throwing Derek under the bus, nicely done."

"I didn't know what to say! I had to say something!" Scott exclaimed quietly, glancing apologetically over at Sky who just glared angrily back at him. "And if he's dead then it doesn't matter, right? Ow! Don't hit me, Sky. Except if he's not dead. Oh, God. I totally just bit her head off."

"And she'll totally get over it," Stiles spoke over him. "Bigger issues at hand here. Like how do we get out alive?"

"But we are alive," Scott countered, "It could've killed us already. It's like he's cornering us or something."

"He's right," Skyler agreed, feeling much less angry with Scott now that she had vented some of her frustration by hitting him, however gently. "When I got stuck in the locker room I stabbed the Alpha in the paw and ran for Coach's office. He started chasing me, but when I got into the office, he completely gave up. He could've easilt made it through the door."

"You stabbed the Alpha?" Stiles was staring at her, mouth hanging open slightly. She nodded back and smirked a bit. "Badass, Gray. So, what, he wants to eat us all at the same time?"

"No, Derek said it wants revenge."

"The spiral, right?" Skyler asked, trying to remember what Stiles had told her about the symbol of revenge.

"Yeah, that's it," Stiles smiled at her, making her stomach clench delightfully. "But, revenge against who?"

"Allison's family?"

"So, you think the Alpha's a werewolf that the Argent's pissed off somehow, and now he's taking his revenge by killing Allison?" Skyler asked, eyes flickering between the boys.

"Maybe that's what the text was about," Stiles suggested. "Someone had to send it."

"Okay, assheads, new plan." An irritating voice cut through their conversation, setting Skyler's teeth on edge. She moved to take a step towards Jackson, but felt Stiles' hand wrap around her wrist, pulling her back. His long fingers managed to wrap themselves the entire way around her wrist, overlapping where they met.

"Woah, cool it, tiger," he whispered, giving her a half grin, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Sky could see that he was starting to lose the calm demeanour he had been wearing all night.

"Stiles calls his useless dad, and tells him to send someone with a gun and decent aim." Stiles' back was to the other boy, but Skyler still felt him stiffen in anger at Jackson's words. "Are we good with that?"

She closed her hand around Stiles' wrist in turn so that they were standing nearly chest to chest with him, clasping each other's wrist. She squeezed it gently, feeling his pulse thudding under her fingertips. "You cool it too," Sky whispered back. "Ignore him, he's a fucking jackass."

"He's right." Scott's voice was so quiet that Sky had to strain to hear him. He couldn't be serious, could he? He couldn't put the Sheriff's life in danger, right? "Tell him if you have to, just... Just call him."

"I'm not watching my dad get eaten alive," Stiles' voice was low and firm, his eyes locked with Scott's, fingers constricting almost painfully on Skyler's wrist.

"All right, give me the phone." Jackson moved forward, shoving Sky away and reaching to grab hold of Stiles' shoulder.

Stiles spun, fist already flying as he moved. It connected with Jackson's jaw, creating a harsh thudding sound. Jackson stumbled backwards, falling to the ground, still holding his mouth in pain. Skyler took a few faltering steps over to Stiles, placing her hands flat against his chest and pushing his back several feet. He looked down at her, eyes blazing. She never thought she would see that level of anger in Stiles, even if it was a calmly controlled sort of anger. To be perfectly honest, Skyler found it kinda sexy.

"Nice swing, Stilinski," Sky told him, not even trying to hold her grin back.

"Jackson, are you okay?" Allison gasped, dashing across to him and crouching down. She shot a angry and disgusted look at Stiles and Skyler. It really pissed her off, and as much as much as she liked Allison, Ally was one of her best and closest friends, she really wanted to tell Allison to go fuck herself. Since when had Allison given a shit about Jackson. She should be comforting Lydia, or holding Scott's hand and helping them through this insane ordeal.

Skyler heard a click and looked down to see Stiles thumb hovering over his dad's contact. She reached down, taking one hand off his chest and using it to cover his hand that was holding the phone.

"You don't have to do this, Stiles," she whispered, looking him right in the eye. "You don't have to put your dad in danger. Not for us, not for anything. Your dad is your anchor, you told me that not three hours ago. Remember?"

"We need to get out," Stiles brought his hand up, placing it against Skyler's cheek. The heel of his hand rested on her jaw, his fingertips touching her hairline. "I can't let you get hurt, and he's out best bet at getting out of this thing alive. I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you." She pressed her head into his palm for a second, closing her eyes tight to stop herself tearing up. He pulled his hand back, nodded at her once and turned away, like he was ashamed to make the call in front of her.

Sky turned to Lydia as Stiles dialed. She was standing on her own, a little ways away from everyone else. She was wearing the same look that Scott was as they both watched Allison and Jackson crouched together on the floor. It was a look of a lot of hurt, a little anger, and a tad of betrayal thrown in. She shuffled to Lydia, placing a trembling hand on her shoulder. The redhead jumped at the sudden contact, spinning to face Sky, eyes wide. Unsure what else to do, Skyler gave Lydia her best shot at a reassuring smile. Lydia smiled back, admittedly a much weaker, barely there smile. She grasped her friend's hand, pulling her close until they were pressed side by side.

"Dad, hey, it's me. And it's your voice mail. Look, I need you to call me back now. Like, right now." A loud bang sounded from the doors of the cafeteria. Everyone jumped, Allison helping Jackson scramble to her feet. They gravitated closer together, backing further and further away from the doors until they were nearly on top of the the counter where the food was served for lunches. "We're at the school. Dad, we're at the school."

Stiles backed up even quicker until he was standing directly in front of Skyler and Lydia. The banging came again, even louder and more ferocious this time. The doors shook, rattling their makeshift barricade. The golf club bent as the doors started to push in. He glanced over his shoulder, eyes meeting Sky's for a second. She could see her own fear reflected in them. She reached forward, sliding an arm around his waist from behind. She pulled him back until his back was flush with her chest, chin resting on his shoulder blade.

"Oh, my God," Lydia breathed out next to Sky, clutching her arm like boa constrictor.

"The kitchen." Skyler could feel the rumble in Stiles' chest as he talked, her hand still splayed across his chest, holding him back. "The door out of the kitchen leads to the stairwell." There was a particularly loud bang on the doors and Sky could see them shaking, nearly ripping off the hinges.

"Which only goes up," Scott pointed out, still backing away from the door.

"Up is better than here." Stiles replied, spinning around and grabbing Skyler's hand.

Lydia let go of her, racing to keep pace with Jackson who had been the first the bolt for the door. Allison after him, then Scott. Stiles pushed Skyler through the stairwell door first, squeezing in after her just as they heard the doors splinter and crash open. Her breath caught in her throat as she dashed up the first flight of stairs, knowing that the Alpha would have no problem catching up to them and tearing them limb from limb. They exploded through a door on the second floor, spilling out into the hallway. Jackson trying the nearest classroom door, which was, unsurprisingly, locked. They spread out across the corridor, checking each door as they went.

"Here!" Scott shouted, holding open a door leading to one of the chemistry labs. The six of them sprinted in, getting as far away from the door as possible. Scott slammed it behind them, forcing a stool under the door handle.

"Is this Harris' room?" Skyler asked, leaning on the table and leafing through through the papers on his desk. "I think I'd rather take my chances out there than be stuck in his room." Stiles let out a bark of laughter as he leaned over, hands on knees, panting from exertion. She looked back up, but froze as she looked at the door. A shadow passed the glass, darkening it for a few seconds, then moved on without stopping. It felt like there was air in the room until Scott spoke again.

"Jackson, how many people can fit in your car?"

Uh, s-six," He stuttered, taking a quick head count. "If someone squeezes onto someone's lap."

"Six?" Allison asked, scoffing. "I can barely fit in the back."

"It doesn't matter," Stiles said, sounding disinterested in the entire conversation. "There's no way of getting out without drawing attention."

"Always look on the bright side, Stiles," Skyler muttered darkly.

"What about this?" Scott bypassed everyone, walking to the door set in the wall. "This leads to the roof. We can go down the fire escape to the parking lot in, like, seconds."

"That's a deadbolt." Skyler had to stop herself smashing something as Stiles pointed out another flaw in their already terrible plan.

"The janitor has a key."

"You mean his body has it," Stiles corrected.

"I can get it," Scott insisted, lowering his voice so only Stiles and Skyler could hear. "I can find him by scent, by blood."

"Well, gee, that sounds like an incredibly terrible idea," Stiles rolled his eyes. "What else you got?

"Scott, if you go out there, you have no chance against the Alpha," Skyler hissed, leaning in closer to the boys. "He'll tear you apart."

"I'm getting the key," Scott replied, raising his voice and straightening up so the others could hear him. He stepped between Sky and Stiles, making for the door.

"Are you serious?" Allison stepped in front of him, her eyes wide and glassy.

"Well it's the best plan," Scott told her frustratedly. "Someone had to get the key if we wanna get out of here."

"You can't go out there unarmed," Allison countered, and Sky could see her lip starting to quiver.

Scott glanced around the room, looking for anything that could be used as a makeshift weapon. He reached over to the desk and picked up the the teacher's pointer, a long, thin plastic handle with an equally thin and useless plastic hand on the top. He brandished it in the least threatening manner Sky had ever seen.

"Well it's better than nothing," he exclaimed seeing everyone's exasperated expressions.

Skyler yanked the pointed, smacking Scott upside the head with it. "Don't be stupid, McCall."

"There's gotta be something else," Stiles groaned.

"There is." Everyone turned to Lydia, who stood there with her small smile that screamed superiority. She tilted her hear towards the chemicals cabinet and smirked.

"What are we gonna?" Stiles asked, face screwed up in confusion. "Throw acid in him?"

"No, like a fire bomb," Lydia pursed her lips, giving them all a look like she pitied their inferior intelligence. "In there is everything you need to make a self-igniting Molotov cocktail."

"Self-igniting..." Stiles repeated.

"Molotov cocktail." Jackson and Scott stared at her in surprise, the other three already knew just how smart she was. "What?" She asked innocently. "I read it somewhere."

"Lydia, you goddamn genius," Skyler laughed and Lydia grinned back at her, glad that someone appreciated her.

"We don't have a key for that either," Stiles pointed out.

Jackson took a deep breath like he was trying to come to terms with the amount of stupidity in the room. He rolled his eyes and stepped up to the cabinet, lifting up his arm and threw his elbow into the glass. It shattered easily and Jackson moved away so that Lydia could find what she needed. Sky stood back and watched her friend at work. It was like a finely oiled machine. Lydia didn't even have to stop and think about what she was doing. She had a mixing flask in one hand and was adding various chemicals without a second's hesitation.

"Jackson, hand me the sulfuric acid." Skyler looked over to Jackson, he was looking between two different corked beakers, eyes flickering with indecision. His hand hovered over one of them for a minute before he changed his mind and picked the second one. He handed it to Lydia and she carefully poured half of the beaker into the mixing flask along with the rest of the chemical concoction. She whisked it around one final time and corked the flask, handing the green mixture to Scott with a nod.

Allison pushed away from the door, pressing herself close to Scott. "No. No, this is insane, you can't do this." She shook her head continuously, placing her hand on his chest. "You cannot go out there."

"We can't just sit here waiting for Stiles' dad to check his messages," Scott murmured to her, pressing close.

"You could die! Don't you get that?!" She snapped back. "He's already killed three people!"

"And we're next," Scott responded, keeping his cool. "Somebody has to do something."

"Scott, just stop! Do you remember..." She took a shuddering breath, trying to keep Scott away from the door. "Do you remember when you told me you knew whether or not I was lying? That I had a tell?" Her voice wavered as a sob built in her throat. "Well, so do you. You're a horrible liar and you've been lying all night." Her eyes finally spilled over, tear tracks making their way down her face. Everyone but Scott shuffled backwards, uncomfortable at the couple's display of raw emotion. "Just... just please, please don't go. Don't leave us. Please."

"Lock it behind me."

Scott pulled her close, pressing his lips to hers gently. It looked like a goodbye kiss. Skyler turned away, embarrassed. She felt like she was intruding on a private, intimate moment between the two. She looked over at Stiles and saw that he was staring right back at her. He gave her a half smile, and she could see that he was just as worried about Scott as Allison was. Scott pulled away from Allison, his face a mask of apology. He pushed her back to hold her at arm's length for a second, then let go, walking to the door.

"Scotty," Sky called out, making her way to him. "A bit of extra protection." She placed the Swiss army knife into his hand, pressing it down into his palm. "Just in case. And I expect it back," she added with a soft smile. He nodded at her, giving her a small thankful smile, then he was gone. Sky jammed the stool back against the door and turned to face the others. Jackson was angry and Skyler also thought she saw a hint of a self-satisfied smirk on his face, but that passed within seconds. Lydia had gone back to her scared and confused state, Allison's gaze was accusatory and Stiles was simply staring at the floor.

"How could you do that to me?!"

"Do what, Ally?" Skyler asked, genuinely confused.

"Send him out there with nothing but some stupid chemicals for protection against a serial killer!" Allison screamed, waving her hands in the air.

"Firstly, he has a self igniting Molotov fucking cocktail, you can thank Lydia for doing that. Protecting your boyfriend when you did nothing but fucking complain at him for going out and trying to save our lives!" Sky yelled back, her patience evaporating. "Secondly, I gave him a fucking knife to protect himself. Alright?! He's not gonna die, so get over it. And believe me, Scott is so much more capable then you think." Skyler was spitting the words out now. "He is probably the most capable person here, he-"

"That's more than enough now."

Stiles caught Skyler around the waist, pinning her arms to her side to stop her from throwing a flask at Allison's head. He steered her towards the back of the room, sitting her down on her seat at one of the lab stations.

"Hey," he said, ducking his head until they were face to face. "It's alright, she doesn't get it. She's just worried about Scott."

"I'm worried too, Stiles, and so are you. He's your best friend." Sky pointed out, running her hand over her head. "You don't see us whining and flirting with Jackson."

"You think she's flirting with Jackson?" Stiles asked, his ADHD popping up unexpectedly.

"That's what you're gonna focus on? Really, Stilinski?" She asked, letting her head fall forward and laughing softly. He laughed back, eyes scanning Jackson and Allison for a few seconds before moving to Lydia. She was standing a few steps away from the other two, watching Jackson closely as he held one of Allison's hands. Skyler made a disgusted noise, glaring at them.

"They are un-effing-believable," Skyler hissed, clenching her fists. "Jackson is being such an asshole."

"As opposed to most of the time when he's such..." Stiles trailed off, remembering their argument at the bowling alley which had started just the same. "Never mind." He breathed in through his nose, giving her an unreadable look. "So," he started, "What the hell happened when you were on your own in the locker room?"

She saw that he was just trying to keep her mind off of the present situation, but she also heard the strain in his voice and decided to play along. She gave him an in depth account of her adventures in the locker room and coach's office, telling it like she was reading a child a bedtime story. He 'oohed' and 'ahhed' and winced and admired in all the right places, happy to play their little game. When she was finished they were quiet for a second. The spell her story had cast over them faded away, leaving them in heavy silence again.

"I thought you were dead."

Stiles' voice broke on the word 'dead'. His head was bent so Skyler couldn't see his face, but she was sure his eyes would be glassy and jaw set. "When Scott and I were running from the Alpha after the locker room, I was sure we were gonna go back and you..." He trailed off, breath catching in his throat.

"Hey, hey, I'm fine," Skyler soothed, standing up and taking hold of Stiles' biceps. "I'm okay, there's nothing to worry about." She ducked her head, trying to get Stiles to look at her. Her hair fell around them, creating a curtain that separated them from everything else. He raised his head, meeting her eyes. She had been right. They were glassy, holding in unshed tears. He tucked her hair behind her ears then rested his hands on either side of her face, tilting it up. He leaned forward and her heart leaped in her chest, thinking just maybe he was going to kiss her. A proper kiss this time, not something hurried and frantic in a gym locker. She closed her eyes, waiting for the pressure on her lips, but it never came. Instead, she felt him rest his forehead softly against hers. She cracked open an eye, seeing that his were still closed. She took the time to study his face.

Stiles' eyebrows were gently furrowed, creating a crease just above his nose and crows feet at the sides of his eyes. His eyelashes were oddly long for a boy, the lower ones brushing off his cheeks. There were dark circles under his eyes from the recent all-nighters he had taken to pulling in order to research anything that could help their friends. His cheekbones stuck out above his mole covered cheeks. She wanted to reach up and trace them like a constellation of beautiful stars. His mouth was open slightly, bottom lip jutted out a bit as he blew out a small breath of air.

"I am so, so sorry for leaving you, Skyler. His voice was pained, and he nuzzled his head closer to hers.

"You didn't have a choice, Stiles," she whispered in reply. "The Alpha could've killed Scott. He could've killed you to get to Scott. What if you'd gotten hurt? I couldn't live with myself if something had happened." She echoed back a somewhat changed version of his earlier words.

"I left you, and you could've died. And I will never do anything like that again. I swear."

She looked at him for a moment, wondering whether or not it was the right thing to do. She went with her first instinct, pressing up on her tiptoes, she ran her tongue over her lips and pressed them to the corner of Stiles' mouth, holding them there as she felt him stiffen under her hands. Her mind was screaming. It felt like end of 'V For Vendetta' in her brain and every nerve ending in her body felt like it was on fire. She pulled back, seeing Stiles' eyes were wide open now.

Skyler watched him, trying to gauge his reaction. His eyes narrowed, hardening with a confidence that was just as unusual for Stiles as fear was for Jackson. He slid one hand around to the back of her head, his other running down her body. He brushed the side of her breast, making her shudder in delight, a shock running right down her spine to her core, and he ghosted past her waist, landing on the curve of her hip. He squeezed it gently, pulling her even closer to him and she had to bite her lip to keep in her satisfied moan. He dropped his head, bringing it to back to hers until the tips of their noses were touching. He tilted his head, pushing forward and-

A loud howl tore through the air making them jump apart. Skyler crashed into the table, her back crying out in pain. Her entire body, like every single part, even her _down there_ , was pulsing wildly. Her whole body was overtaken by a heat that told her she was flushing everywhere, like absolutely _everywhere_ , when she remembered that she wasn't alone in the room with Stiles.

"Ahhhhh!"

Jackson fell to his knees, gripping the back of his neck. Allison and Lydia crowded around him, standing just over him, exchanging worried glances. Stiles ran around Sky, trying his utmost to keep from brushing against her. He rushed over to Jackson, attempting to get a look at his neck.

"Goddamn cockblocking Alpha," she hissed under her breath, following Stiles over to the boy on the floor.

His yells died out after a minute and the four people standing around him hauled him to his feet. His was pale, his face was sweaty and his entire body trembled.

"No, I'm fine," Jackson complained, shooing all of their hand's away. He stepped away from everyone without releasing his neck. "Like, seriously, I'm okay."

"That didn't sound okay at all," Allison's voice was still shaky, and she was looking at Jackson with the kind of concern that Skyler would usually associate with Lydia. This entire night was an emotional mind-fuck.

"What's on the back of your neck?" Stiles inquired, reaching out to pull down Jackson's collar.

Jackson spun, knocking Stiles' hand away with an angry noise, nostrils flared. He looked around, then turned away again, rubbing the back of his neck vigorously. "I said I'm fine," he snapped.

"Chill out, Whittemore," Skyler replied in a bored tone, rolling her eyes at him. "Remember, Jacky, we're all friends here."

"Well it's been there for days," Lydia huffed, crossing her arms in a defensive pose and glowering at her boyfriend. "He won't let me take him to get them checked out."

"As if you actually care!" Jackson snarled back, throwing the words in Lydia's face.

Lydia flinched away from, pulling herself in and trying to seem smaller. Sky's face flushed with anger this time and she stepped to Jackson shoving his shoulder with one hand.

"What the fuck did I say," she punctuated each word with a shove, "About the way you speak to Lydia?!"

"You better fucking watch yourself, Gray." Jackson advanced on her, making her fall back a step. "I'm warning you."

"Alright!" Stiles pushed inbetween Skyler and Jackson, forcing them to move apart. "Can we not argue to half a second here?"

Everyone dispersed again, Jackson and Skyler avoiding each other, Lydia and Jackson avoiding each other, and Skyler and Stiles avoiding each other. Sky went to Lydia, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and letting the girl fall against her.

"Where's Scott?" Allison looked at Stiles questioningly, then over to Skyler who had to bit her tongue to stop herself snapping at the girl. "He should be back by now." The end of her sentence was cut off by a loud click at the door. Everyone in the room jumped, snapping their heads to the door of the classroom. Skyler squeezed Lydia so tight that she wondered if it hurt the girl. If the Alpha was done with Scott, he would be on his way to find them. But it wasn't the silhouette of the hulking werewolf against the glass door, it was the decidedly human silhouette of Scott, floppy hair and all.

"Scott!" Allison shouted, throwing herself to the door and ripping away the stool. She rattled the lock, trying to open the door, but Scott had locked it. Whether to protect them, or for his own, more inexplicable reasons, none of them knew, but they were all glad that it was locked. "Scott!" The shadow was still for a second then moved on, passing on by.

"Where's he going?" Lydia asked. No one was sure what the answer was, so instead stayed quiet.

"Scott!" Allison was still desperately calling out for Scott, tugging at the handle and slamming the palm of her hand against the glass. "Scott!" Her voice was failing as she started growing louder and louder. "Scott! SCOTT!"

"Shut up!" Skyler snapped, waving her hands at Allison who stared at her in astonishment. "Seriously, cut it out! Listen."

"Are you seri-"

"No." Lydia cut across Allison. "She's right."

"What, you think I should shut up too?" Allison spat.

"Stop. Stop!" Lydia's voice rose a few octaves. "D'you hear that?" Stiles, Jackson and Allison were confused at Lydia's sudden outburst, but Sky was grinning, knowing exactly what Lydia was talking about. "Listen."

Sky sprinted to the window, dragging Lydia along behind her. Pressing her face to the glass she watched the lights of the police cars in the distance coming closer and closer. The sirens were like a heavenly chorus from on high to the the five teenagers, and a tear rolled down Lydia's face, even though she would never admit it. Skyler laughed a little, letting out a few relived sobs as she slumped against the window.

She could feel Lydia on one side, her hair tickling the side of Sky's face. She knew that Stiles was on her other side, she could smell the cinnamon scent. She didn't even look at him, she didn't think she could handle it just then. She just leaned her head on his shoulder, feeling the soft fabric rubbing her cheek. She laughed again and felt him look down at her.

"We're saved."

She wasn't going to die, anyway. That was what the EMTs told her. Jesus, if she kept seeing them like this she'd have to ask for a loyalty card. All the scrapes and bruises were totally superficial, but they had warned her against any strenuous physical exercise for a week or two until the cut on her thigh had completely healed, seeing as she had torn the cut open twice since she had originally cut her leg open at the video store. She had been forced into a shock blanket, despite the fact that she was not in shock and brought over to the Sheriff to answer questions with the boys.

"You're sure it was Derek Hale?" Stiles' father was asking, looking more at Skyler than the other two. She assumed it was because he knew them too well to trust them fully when it came to these odd situations they seemed to find themselves in more often than not.

"Yes," Scott piped up, seeing Sky's uncomfortable twitch at the question. She had been distraught when they'd exited the school and were unable to find Derek's body. Of course, she couldn't tell anyone that so they just chalked it up to shock, hence the shock blanket.

"I saw him too," Stiles chipped in.

"Skyler?" The Sheriff hadn't taken his eyes off of her the entire time.

"It was dark, and it all happened so fast," she swallowed and met the Sheriff's eyes. "I can't be a hundred percent sure, but it definitely looked like him." She could practically feel the boys relax at her answer, but her stomach rolled at the idea of selling Derek out.

"That's okay, anything you tell me is helpful," Sheriff Stilinski smiled kindly at her.

"What about the janitor?" Scott asked, and they could see he was getting antsy.

"We're still looking," the Sheriff sighed.

"Did you check under the bleachers? Under them?" Scott clarified.

"Yeah, Scott, we looked" the Sheriff replied, exasperated at the line of questioning. "We pulled them out, just like you asked. There's nothing."

"I'm not making this up!"

"I know, I believe you," Sheriff Stilinski spoke to him in a voice that would usually be used to soothe a child that was throwing a tantrum. "I do."

"No, you don't!" Scott yelled. "You have this look like you feel bad for me! Like you wanna believe me, but you don't!"

"Listen, we're gonna search this whole school again. We're gonna find him, okay? I promise."

Scott's body sagged in defeat, he knew that the Sheriff didn't believe anything he was saying. He was just trying to placate him. Skyler huddled in closer to the boys, shivering in the night's wind. She hadn't found it in her to look Stiles in the face yet, but she knew that if they didn't talk this through it would just get bigger and bigger until it blew up in their faces.

"Sheriff!" Stiles' dad turned to look at one of his deputies that was standing at the top of the steps. He turned back to the three teens behind him.

"Stay. Both of you," he motioned at Scott and Stiles, then turned to Sky, looking just over her shoulder. "If you're happy that you're all patched up and good to go, you can head home with your dad. Home safe, Skyler." He walked away, climbing up the steps and entering the school.

"My dad?" Sky asked, looking over her shoulder. "Oh, God." Nick was hurrying across the parking lot, Rebecca on his heels. Whereas her face was overtaken with worry and even had a few tear tracks on her face, Nick just looked pissed and was checking his phone every few seconds as he walked.

"Well, fuck," Skyler breathed out, rubbing her eyebrow. She shrugged off the shock blanket, and turned to Scott, wrapping it around his shoulders with a smile. "Keep warm, wolfie. I gotta go." Scott nodded at her and gave her a comforting smile. "Call me later and fill me on on everything I miss, yeah?" She turned to go but at the last second, Stiles grabbed her arm, spinning her around to face him.

"We need to talk." He didn't bother lowering his voice because he knew that Scott would just hear him anyway.

"We do, but not right now," Skyler agreed, pulling her arm out of his grip. "Nick's pissed, so I really gotta leave before he busts a vein or something." She gave Stiles a quick one armed hug and left, crossing the distance between her and her dad in a few seconds.

"What the hell have you done now?" Nick asked as she reached him.

"I haven't done anything!" She protested, coming to a halt just in front of him. "It's not my fault that there's a psycho killer in Beacon Hills."

"You were stupid enough to go out past curfew with five of your little friends to the school and break in because... Why was it again?" He turned his back to her and started walking towards his car.

"Stiles needed his chemistry book," Skyler mumbled, slouching along behind him as Rebecca threw an arm around her shoulders and hugged Sky to her side.

"And that boy," her dad scoffed, glaring at her over his shoulder. "That's another thing we need to talk about. He's a bad influence on you. He may be the Sheriff's son but he is nothing like his father, and I don't think I want you hanging around with him anymore. He's nothing but trouble."

Sky's mouth dropped open. He couldn't be serious. After all the shit she had gone through when she was fighting with Stiles and then making up again, her dad was going to try and stop her from seeing him. No way in hell was she taking.

"You can't stop me from seeing him," she told him, raising her eyebrows and pouting her lips slightly. "You know that, right?" She stopped dead, forcing Rebecca to stop alongside her. Skyler placed her hands on her hips and watched her father, anticipating the fight that was about to come.

Nick froze and Sky could see her shoulders tensing. She braced herself as he turned to face her, his movements slow and deliberate. She could see several people in the immediate area craning their necks to get a better look at them.

"What did you just say?" He hissed, narrowing his eyes and glaring at her.

"I just said that you cannot stop me from seeing my best friend," Skyler enunciated every syllable like she was talking to an idiot.

"I can stop you from doing whatever the hell I want, I am your father," he snapped, stepping closer until there was only a foot inbetween them.

"I don't give a shit, Nick," Skyler answered, making her voice as condescending as possible.

"How dare you?!" He was getting louder and Sky knew it would just take another small push to knock him over the edge.

"What are you gonna do, Nick?" She smirked, knowing that it was wrong to keep pushing him like that, but she had no tolerance for his bullshit tonight. "Ground me? That'll for for the next six hours until you fuck off somewhere else for weeks and bring me back some cheap shitty gift to make yourself feel better that you're basically abandoning me, just like you abandoned me and mom."

All of the colour drained from her father's face as he stared her down, neither wanting to look away. Sky knew she had crossed the line by mentioning her mother, but she was too angry to care. She had always felt like her father had resented her. They hadn't planned to have a child that young, and Nick had never been that involved with Skyler as a child, preferring instead to go on long business trips and seek comfort with numerous other women. When her parents had split up, Sky felt like she was to blame. Two years of counselling had cured that problem, but she had never quite shaken the feeling that it was at least in small part because of her.

"HOW DARE YOU?!" She hadn't expected her father to yell that loud and jumped in fright. She felt Rebecca lean closer to her, hand wrapping around her wrist. "DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! I AM YOUR FATHER AND YOU WILL DO WHAT YOU ARE TOLD!" He took a step forward, his hand twitching up, and for a second Sky was sure he was going to hit her.

Everyone around them had fallen silent, watching their little altercation. She looked back quickly, seeing Scott and Allison standing at the bottom of the steps and Stiles standing further away. The Sheriff was just walking back out of the school and she saw him pause, watching them with barely concealed interest and worry. She Stiles start moving towards them in her peripheral vision but she was distracted as she felt someone take hold of the arm that Rebecca wasn't already holding.

"Sky, sweetie." It was Natalie Martin, sweet but slightly neglectful at times Natalie. As usual, there was not a hair out of place. "I was, uh, just wondering," Natalie's eyes roved over Nick for a minute before returning to the young girl. "I don't think Lydia would feel comfortable on her own tonight, and I don't think that you would either. We wanted to know whether or not you wanted to stay with us tonight?"

Skyler looked over Natalie's shoulder and caught sight of Lydia hovering by her mom's car, sending her nervous looks and motioning Skyler to come over with her head. "Yeah, Natalie," Skyler breathed out, smiling at her friend's mother. "I'd really like that, thanks." She turned around to Rebecca and pulled her into a hug, resting her head on the older woman's shoulder. "I'll be back tomorrow, I just wanna make sure Nick's outta the house first." She drew away, Rebecca smiling at her but Sky could see the sadness behind her gaze. It must be really shit for her to have to live in the constant war zone between Skyler and Nick, always trying to be the peacekeeper.

She started to walk towards Lydia, Natalie's hand guiding her along. She knew that they would have to relay their entire story to Lydia's mom once they got back, and she could only hope that Lydia wouldn't be mad at her for everything that went down tonight. She knew that Allison would be pissed, but she also knew that Allison would get over it sooner or later. Lydia was already kind of mad at her for the video store incident, and Sky had been trying to make it up to her ever since. She wanted to go back to Lydia's and curl up in baggy t-shirts that Lydia wouldn't be seen dead in otherwise, watch terrible romance movies, watch terrible horror movies and fall asleep at six in the morning after eating pint upon pint of cookie dough ice-cream.

She stopped a few feet away from Lydia, one arm crossed across her chest, holding onto the other. She wanted to apologise but she wasn't quite sure what to say.

"Lyds..." Lydia surged forwards, wrapping Skyler in a bear hug. She sagged against her friend, the exhaustion of the entire night crashing down on her and she felt like she could fall asleep standing up.

"Come on," Natalie stepped up to the two girls, putting her arms around the two girls, pulling them into a quick group hug. It felt comforting for Skyker to have two people she cared about wrapped around her and she took a deep breath in, letting the tension flow out of her body for the first time since they realised that Deaton was not in the back of Derek's car several hours earlier. "Let's get you girls home."


	15. Drunken Words Are Sober Thoughts

_**Skyler**_

Skyler had been spending nearly all her time at Lydia's since the night at the school. She had gone home the day after the their encounter with the Alpha to pick up some clean clothes, pyjamas, and a toothbrush. Nick had decided to skip the business trip he was meant to be going on for the next week and stay at home to try and enforce a punishment on Skyler. All that had managed to do was force Sky to climb in her bedroom window and sneak back out when she was collecting her things, which Rebecca had already lovingly packed for her.

She hadn't seen Stiles since that night, but that was nothing to do with her father's ruling. Both of them had been busy looking after their respective friends that were dealing with the breakup. Sky was right, Allison _had_ forgiven her within a day. She had come to the assumption that Skyler hadn't been lying about the Derek Hale situation. That made Skyler feel pretty shitty because she had been lying, but at least her and Allison were friends again. Every night had been Girls Night since the end of Scallison, and every night had Guys Night for Scott and Stiles. They had texted and called once or twice after Stiles had dropped her phone back to the house and Rebecca had driven over with it. They never spoke of anything important, it was just 'How was your day?' or 'Allison's crying again!' and most common, 'Scott's moping.' They had not mentioned anything about their two almost kisses .

They had one day before they had to go back to school and the three girls decided to make the most of it by staying in their pyjamas, eating Ben and Jerry's and watching movies. Basically, everything they had been doing for the past few days. They had already watched 'The Notebook', 'The Last Song', 'How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days', and 'Music and Lyrics'. It was now ten o'clock and they were now halfway through 'Valentine's Day'. Skyler was ready to fucking snap. She had hated everyone of those movies except 'Music and Lyrics', and that was only because of the song 'Pop Goes My Heart', which she thought was hilarious.

Lydia's mom was out of town for the night, so the girls had helped themselves to Natalie's alcohol cabinet. They were all starting to feel the warmth and fuzziness associated with being drunk. Skyler hadn't had a proper drink since the first party she had been to in Beacon Hills and it felt nice to let loose and knock back some fifty year old wine with her friends.

"Sooooo," Lydia drew her word out, turning her head to the side to look at Allison. They were tucked under a blanket on the couch, Lydia in the middle, Sky on the left and Allison on the right. "What are you gonna do about formal? Y'know, now that you and Scott are..."

"I'll just go on my own," Allison told them after a minute of silence. It was a seriously awkward silence, Sky wasn't sure how Ally was going to take the question about the Winter Formal. Before she had broken up with Scott, she had been more than excited for the dance, she had been ecstatic. She had been looking forward to finally going to a high school dance with a guy that she really liked. From what Allison had told Sky about her previous moves, Allison had never had enough time in one school to find a guy, date him and go to a dance with him.

"But you can't go on your own!" Lydia insisted, a hiccup interrupting her halfway through her sentence.

"I'm going on my own," Skyler said, taking another sip from her wine glass. "We could go together as friends. No coupley bullshit."

"That's not acceptable!" Lydia shrieked, sitting upright quickly and nearly causing Allison and Sky to drop their drinks. "I can't have my two best friends turn up without guys on their arms!"

"Well seeing as neither of us have a date, and I sold all my cardboard cutouts of Ian Somerhalder, I think we're gonna be going stag." She gave Lydia an apologetic grin, toasting her with the glass.

"That's not even funny, Skyler," Lydia protested, and she was starting to sound seriously worried. "You guys need dates. It is not a negotiation. I'll find you guys dates."

"NO!" They both yelled at the same time. Lydia didn't even jump and Skyler was fairly sure that she had been expecting that reaction.

"Allison, you can go with that tall guy, Adam." She wiggled a finger in Allison's face then turned to Sky. "And you can go with-"

"I'm not going to the Winter Formal with Zach."

"Why not?!" Lydia shifted her entire body to face her blond friend. "Who else would you go with, Sky?" She asked, smirking in a way that told Skyler that Lydia was hinting at something. "Like a certain Sheriff's son?" Now Allison had joined in with the smirking.

"Give it a rest guys," Skyler groaned, downing the rest of her wine so that she didn't have to think of anything else to say. Sure, they both knew that she had a crush on Stiles, but neither of them knew the extent of her feelings for him, or that sharing the werewolf secret had inevitably brought them closer.

Skyler had only had one serious boyfriend before, Jace. He had been her first kiss when they were ten, her first date when they were thirteen and she had lost her virginity to him on her sixteenth birthday. They had ended on good terms when she left Lawrence for Beacon Hills. She wasn't used to the whole relationship thing, and what was going on with Stiles was confusing the fuck outta her. Sky's feelings for him were strong, she wasn't in love with him, but it was definitely a possibility in the future if they ever got over their confused and not quite together stage.

"Oh, come on," Allison drawled, happy to her mind off of her and Scott for a minute. "We know that you like him."

"It's just a little crush, for Christ's sake," Sky laughed, trying to steer the subject away from Stiles. "I'll get over it in a week or two. So, do either of you have your dresses yet?"

"No, no, no," Lydia protested, laughing and plucking the glass out of Skyler's hand to remove the only distraction she had. "We are not changing the subject. Are you going to go to the Formal with Stilinski?"

"I don't know, he hasn't mentioned it," Sky shrugged, picking at a loose thread on the blanket. "I know girls are meant to take the initiative and ask the guy, but, you know... It's ages away and I don't even have a dress and if I went with Stiles, we'd be going as friends, so it's no different than if I was going with Ally."

"It's so different!" Allison insisted, Lydia nodding in agreement.

"She's right, y'know," Lydia sing-songed, pouting. "If you go with Allison, you two will dance together for a bit, and everyone will think it's cute but then Allison will get all moony over Scott and you'll be left on your own and be all disappointed and lonely. If you go with Stilinski then at least you're with a friend that won't ditch you for someone else and if you go with Zach, there's a possibility of some great sex."

"I'm not gonna sleep with Zach." Skyler reached forward, taking her glass from the coffee table in the middle of the room and topping it up with more wine. "And how do you know that he's great in bed?" She asked Lydia, her face screwed up as she took a sip.

"Well obviously not me," the redhead rolled her eyes like Skyler was being particularly stupid. "But I've heard from many girls that you will be in for a good time."

"Many girls? Great," Sky told her sarcastically, "You want to set me up with a chlamydia ridden fuck buddy. Thanks Lyds, thanks a lot."

"You are such a drama queen, Sky. Honestly. And if you don't want to go with him, are you gonna go with Stilinski?"

"Will you please, please let it go?" She whined at the two of them.

"No." Allison grinned at her, making Sky feel uncomfortable. "Call Stiles."

"What? No." Skyler protested, reaching into the pocket of her onesie and wrapping her hand around the phone just in case either of them thought to try and take it to call Stiles.

"You should call him and ask him to the Formal," Allison leaned forward and clutched Lydia's arm, both of them smiling widely.

"Um, let me think about that for one moment," Skyler pressed her index finger to her chin for a second and pretended to consider for a minute. "No."

"Come oooooonnnnnn!" Lydia complained, poking her in the arm. "He's definitely into you."

"Lydia, he has a crush on you. He has had a crush on you since third freaking grade," she explained, turning away and grabbing some popcorn to hide the disappointed look on her face. "He's told me."

"Don't forget that we were in that chemistry room with you in the school," Lydia pointed out, still grinning, but Allison's smile had faltered at the mention of that night. "That didn't look like just friends. You guys were practically dry humping against the desk."

Skyler flushed at the memory of their moment in the classroom when it had seemed like they were the only two in the world. Even thinking of what had happened when they were trapped in the classroom raised goosebumps across her skin and sent heat down to her core. She had woken the last few nights in a heavy sweat and had to crawl out of Lydia's queen sized bed and splash her face with cold water until she calmed down. Stiles was the always the cause of those moments. He had invaded her dreams and it was getting ridiculous at this point.

The first time it had happened, she'd been back in the locker with him. It was just as he had bent down to kiss her neck, but instead of pulling back this time, he kept kissing, harder and harder. He started to make his way up her neck until he started sucking on her pulse point. Skyler had once admitted that it was her ultimate turn on in a slightly tipsy game of 'Truth or Dare' with Stiles, Scott and Allison, Jackson and Lydia, Danny, Zach and a bunch of the others that Sky's friends usually hung around with.

She moaned as he pressed harder against her and she could feel just how aroused he was through his pants. She dropped one hand from his neck and slid it down to Stiles' ass using it draw him closer, pressing their hips together and feeling heat pool in her center. Sky felt his hand go underneath her shirt, skimming it up her ribs, leaving trails of fire in its wake. She exhaled shakily as Stiles' hand cupped one of her breasts, thumb stroking over the lace of her bra, making her nipple harden with pleasure. He backed her up, forcing her into the locker door. It flew open and she collapsed back onto her bed, pushing herself up until her head rested on the pillows. Stiles was still on top of her, kissing her and pressing her down into the bed covers. He pulled back, looking down at her, eyes filled with lust. Skyler slipped her hands under his shirt, deciding that he was wearing too many clothes, and tugged it off over his head. She licked her lips as her eyes trailed down his body, then grabbed his neck and pulled him down to kiss her again.

Sky had woken up flustered from these dreams for the past four nights in a row. It was becoming a real problem. Sometimes in the very early hours of the morning, she would like to imagine that Stiles sometimes thought of her like that. Not that she wold ever admit that to anyone, it was way, way too embarrassing.

"It wasn't like that," Sky insisted, rubbing her arm. "We were both emotional and stressed. It didn't mean anything."

"Bullshit," Lydia snapped. "You like this guy, you gotta make the first move. Don't wait around for him to make the first move, guys are stupid and need to be prodded harshly into action."

"I just don't think it's a good idea, I don't want to risk fucking up our friendship over a little crush." That was a lie. It was not a 'little' crush.

"Okay," Lydia nodded gently, one side of her mouth quirking up. "Then Zach it is."

"Motherfuc-"

Skyler's phone jumped to life in her hands, vibrating and playing some random indie song that she had heard and liked a few days ago. She pulled it out of her pocket, glancing at the screen to see who was bothering to call her at this time. The picture on the screen was one she had taken of Scott ages ago, grinning like an idiot with plastic spoons stuck over his eyes.

"Well?" Allison asked, craning her neck to see the phone. "Who is it?" Skyler didn't have the heart to tell her who it was, so instead just held her phone up for her friends to see and watched Allison's face fall. "Answer it," she whispered, voice high. "I don't care, just answer it."

"Ally..." Sky trailed off, pursing her lips.

"Just answer it," she snapped back shrilly, turning away.

Skyler sighed, throwing the blanket off her and standing up quickly. Her vision darkened for a second and she wondered if she had had a bit too much to drink that night. She hopped out of the room, wine glass in hand, swiping across the screen to answer the call.

"Hey, Scott," she held the phone up to her ear, speaking softly so that the girls couldn't hear her. "What can I do for you?"

"It is not Scott." Stiles was wasted. That much she could tell from the way he slurred every word, even if there wasn't an 'S' in it.

"Oh, hey Stiles. What can I do for you, then?"

"Can I talk to Skyler Gray, pleasey-please?" She bit her lip to stop herself laughing out loud at him.

"You are talking to her, Stiles," Skyler said in the most serious voice she could manage.

"How do I know it's Skyler? You could be anyone. You could be the Alpha!" Stiles' voice raised suddenly and she could hear violent shushing on the other end then two people snapping faintly at each other. Skyler assumed that it was Scott as Stiles had told her earlier in the day that he was taking his best friend out to get completely shitfaced as a last ditch attempt to cheer him up. "Prove that you're Skyler. Tell me what your name is!"

"My name is Skyler Gray," she responded, giggling uncontrollably at Stiles' demand.

"Scott," he staged whispered from the other end of the phone, "It's definitely her, Scott. She knew Skyler's name."

"Uh, hey, Stiles," she shouted down the phone, trying to catch his attention. "Can I talk to Scotty? I'll just be a minute, I swear."

"I'll time you, and you only have a minute." She heard a whistling sound that she thought was the phone flying through the air until Scott caught it.

"Hey, Sky," he huffed, sounding exhausted and a bit pissed off. "Sorry about this."

"Not a bother, Scott," Skyler raised her wine to her lips and took a sip. "You don't sound drunk."

"Werewolf metabolism, means I can't get drunk anymore," he told her morosely. "Which means Stiles has had a serious amount of Jack Daniels all to himself."

"That shit'll kill his liver, Scott." Sky ran a hand over her face, breathing deeply. "Make sure he doesn't go overboard."

"He's already gone overboard. He got a call asking if he was happy with his long distance call provider and he freaked out and started yelling that the little voices in the phone were after him, so he chucked it into a bush. Took twenty minutes to find it, and now it won't turn on. I had to confiscate his car keys because he wanted to see could he drive his car across the lake, and then he insisted on calling you because apparently he has something very very important to ask you." Skyler had never heard a man sound so defeated.

"Okey dokes, throw him back on," Skyler grinned at the idea of Stiles trying to drive Roscoe across the lake like a Jeep savvy Auqaman. "Just do me a favour, Scott. Don't let him drive, don't let him do anything too stupid, yeah?"

"'Course not, Skyler," he sighed and she could tell he was trying to get the right words out. "How's Allison?"

"She's doin' okay, Scott. About the same as you by the sounds of it." Her mind flickered back to the conversation she had been having with the girls a few minutes ago. "You better make it up to her by Winter Formal."

"Um, okay," Scott paused, mulling over her request. "Why?"

"Girl reasons, man," Skyler shook her head. "Don't try and understand."

"Actually, Stiles and I were just talking about the Formal." She heard him hiss something at Stiles on the other end. "I better put him back on, he's getting twitchy. See ya, Skyler."

"Bye, Scotty."

"You were much more than a minute!" Stiles chastised her the second he had the phone back.

"Scott and I had important things to talk about. Like you."

"I'm important to you?" He sounded amazed at her declaration and it made her heart contract painfully. She wished she had the balls to tell him just how important he really was to her.

"Of course you are, dumbass," Skyler scoffed. "We're besties, aren't we?"

"Yeah," Stiles' reply sounded distracted and a bit sad. "Besties. Right."

"What did you want to ask me about, anyways?" Skyler moved to the stairs, sitting on the bottom step and tucking her legs up to her chest and resting her chin on her knees.

"I asked you what your name was," Stiles sounded very confused. "Wasn't that what I wanted to ask you?"

I don't think so, Stilinski," Sky smiled, hoping that she would get to witness drunken Stiles for herself at some point. "Try really hard to think about what you were going to ask. You could even ask Scott if you get really stuck."

"SCOTT!" Sky jumped a little as she heard Stiles yelling at his friend. "What was I gonna ask her? Scott, seriously!" She heard Scott give an exasperated sigh, and muttered something hastily that ended in the words 'Just ask her already, Stiles! Jesus dude!'

"Thaaaat was it," Stiles drawled out, and she noticed that his voice was much more shaky and much less confident. "Well I'm a guy and you're a girl, right?"

"I'm not sure, I'll have to check," Skyler commented, biting her lip with a smile.

"Stop being a stupid!" He interrupted, shouting down the phone at her. "And you do girl things, right? You like shopping and wearing pretty stuff and dancing, don't you?"

"Uh, I guess," she replied, sounding very unsure.

"Well there's something happening soon," Stiles hiccuped violently and paused, collecting himself. "And it requires shopping and wearing pretty things and a lot of dancing."

"Yeah..." Her heart beat frantically and she wondered if this was going where she thought it was going. It would be too fucking serendipitous for Stiles to call and ask her to the Formal just after she had been discussing the possibility of attending the dance with him.

"Winter Formal," Stiles took a really deep breath and held it before attempting to continue what he was saying. "Well, I was wond... wonder... Wondering! That's it! Thank you, Scotty. So, I was wondering if..." He trailed off and Sky felt like screaming. Could he just finish his fucking question?! Her heart thumped faster and faster.

"I was wondering if you knew whether or not Lydia would go with me?"

The whole sentence came out in a rush and jumble of words, like it was a bandaid Stiles wanted to rip off quickly. Sky felt like she was going to get sick. Bile rose in her throat and she could feel the back of her eyes starting to burn with tears which she didn't try to hold back. That was Stiles had wanted to ask her? God, the fucker. Maybe their moment in the locker room, or their almost kiss in the chemistry classroom really hadn't meant anything to him. She knew that the male and female brain worked differently, she had read 'Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus', but she thought that he had cared about her. Maybe he was just horny and looking for someone to distract him from the great and beautiful Lydia Martin.

"No, Stiles," Skyler snapped through her tears. "Lydia's going with Jackson. You remember Jackson, right? Her boyfriend?"

"Yeah, I, uh, I remember." Stiles suddenly sounded very sober for someone who she knew was so very drunk. "Skyler, I-"

"I have to go, Stiles." It was taking a tremendous amount of effort to not scream and throw things and tell Stiles he was a dick right now, but she had to be mature about it. She knew that Stiles had a thing for Lydia, and she was stupid enough to think that maybe she had a chance with him. It was unfair at her to be mad for unreciprocated feelings, but she could be a bit mad at him for leading her on. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Skyler ended the call as quickly as she could, but not before hearing Scott shouting and Stiles giving a yelp of pain. She was viciously glad for a moment that Stiles had manged to hurt himself or that Scott had hurt him, hopefully not too much though. She wasn't mad enough to hope that Stiles had broken a leg or anything that serious, maybe a splinter or savage papercut.

 _ **Stiles**_

On the other end of the line, Stiles was mentally kicking himself and Scott was physically hitting him on the arm. He had called Sky with every drunken intention of asking her to go to the Winter Formal, Dutch courage flooding through his veins. Okay, so he had momentarily forgotten his objective and asked her to confirm her identity by telling him her name. That was rather stupid. Thankfully, Scott had been standing next to him the entire time to keep reminding him of what he had called to do.

But when he arrived at the moment of truth and he had successfully managed to say the word 'wondering', he had to stop. His brain had had a few seconds of startling clarity and he realised that he might be making a serious mistake. He was still unsure about which way he was swinging on the whole 'Lydia/Skyler' situation, which was only made worse by the fact that they were best friends.

One the one hand, if he asked Lydia the answers would be easy and predictable. There could be a miracle and Lydia would say yes, and they would to the Formal together and she would realise what she had been missing all these years and they would fall in love and ride off into the sunset in Roscoe. If she said no, a much more likely scenario, then Stiles would go on living like he had before and it wouldn't really hurt because he had been expecting it.

On the other hand, if Stiles asked Skyler to go, the results could be much more dramatic. If she said yes then it was very much the same as if Lydia said yes, they might fall in love and live happily ever after. Or she could say yes, they could go to the dance he could fuck up and then she would hate him and never wanted to talk to him again, couldn't even look at him or be in the same room. Or she could straight up reject him, and then he would be too embarrassed to be around her and Sky would feel bad for him and just ignore him and they would live out the rest of their high school lives avoiding each other. In two out of the three scenarios, he lost his best friend. It was never a good idea to date a friend, it always ended messily.

It might hurt Skyler if he asked Lydia, but he wasn't quite sure how Sky felt about him. He was still beating himself up over the incident in the locker room and the other one in the chemistry lab. Neither of them had been in their right minds that night and she could have just been overly emotional or highly strung. She had never given him any previous signs that she liked him. Well, no signs that he could read, guys were not very good at that. But there was definitely something between them. It felt like fireworks wherever their skin touched, his mind felt fuzzy whenever they were together, and his legs felt weak when she shot him one of her lazy grins

His head was surprisingly clear as he came to his decision. Hurting Skyler was a big possibility, whichever way this conversation ended. Stiles would much rather possibly hurt her a small bit now than fuck up their entire friendship and break her heart ("Like Skyler would ever care about me enough that I could have the ability to break her heart," Stiles thought bitterly.) in the long term. He would rather hurt her now than lose her forever. Because the stunning truth was that he had arrived at the stage where he could imagine himself without Skyler Gray, and he would keep quiet about his feelings forever if it meant he could keep Sky in his life.

"I was wondering if you knew whether or not Lydia would go with me?"

"No, Stiles." He knew that he had fucked up the second she answered. Sky's voice wasn't just hurt, it was also seriously fucking angry. "Lydia's going with Jackson. You remember Jackson, right? Her boyfriend?"

"Yeah, I, uh, I remember," Stiles wanted to take it all back. It seemed like a good idea a few seconds ago but the hurt in her voice was fucking killing him. He was going to tell her he was sorry, he was going to tell her that he was only asking Lydia so that Skyler didn't get hurt. Stiles was going to ask Skyler to the Winter Formal. "Skyler, I-"

"I have to go, Stiles." The degree of finality in Skyler's voice worried Stiles, and he could hear her pulling away from the phone.

"You idiot!" Scott slapped the back of his hand against Stiles' bicep, very hard.

"Ah! Werewolf strength, asshat!" Stiles withdrew from him quickly.

"No man, you deserve that!" Scott followed Stiles as he handed back his phone and stumbled back towards the rock that he had been sitting on minutes earlier. "You were meant to ask Skyler, not Lydia!"

"What does it matter now, dude?" Stiles spat, throwing himself back onto the ground. "Lydia's going with her boyfriend and Sky's pissed at me now. She would've said no anyway."

"Not true, man, she definitely likes you," Scott insisted, sitting next to Stiles. "Her heartbeat always rises when you're together."

"Scotty, the only time we're together and you can hear her heart is when we're either in a life or death situation, or you've just scared the shit outta her by popping up unexpectedly. Of course her heartbeat is gonna rise," Stiles pointed out skeptically.

"No, Stiles, you gotta believe me," Scott implored.

"Just drop it, Scott," Stiles snapped and turned his upper body to grab the bottle of Jack Daniels. "Go back to talking about Allison or whatever."

Stiles took an angry swig from the bottle. The whiskey burned his throat as he swallowed, but it was a welcome distraction from the emotional turmoil raging in his head. He took another, much longer drink and hoped that if he had enough, maybe finished the bottle, that the disaster that had been tonight would be forgotten.

 _ **Skyler**_

Skyler took several deep breaths, composing herself. She knew that Allison and Lydia were sitting impatiently on the couch wanting to know what the call had been about. She couldn't say it. She didn't want to face the pitying looks and the scorn on Lydia's face when Sky told her that Stiles had called to ask Sky if Lydia wanted to go to the Formal him. Instead, Sky let herself cry for a minute. She tried not to make any noise and just let the tears drip down her face slowly. When she was finished she dried her eyes on her onesie and pulled up the hood. She didn't want the girls to be able to see that she had been crying when she entered the room again. She really hoped that they had moved on from the Winter Formal and were back to watching shitty romance movies. Skyler stood up, tipping the end of her wine down her throat and strolling back into the living room.

"So what did Scott want?" Allison asked as Sky made her way back to the sofa.

"It was actually Stiles." For fuck's sake. Did Allison really have to ask that? Skyler avoided their gaze as she perched on the arm of the couch. "He was really drunk and chucked his phone into a bush. It was a bit broken so he used Scott's phone."

"So, what did Stiles want? Did he ask you out?" Lydia smirked at her. "Did he talk dirty?"

"Jesus, Lyds, he did neither of those things, actually. We just talked about nothing important." The lie felt bitter on her tongue, and she reached out to grab the wine bottle, needing something to wash the taste out of her mouth. "Ah, shit. Lydia's this one's finished. Are there any more?"

"Yeah, there's another bottle in the mini fridge by the kitchen island," Lydia waved her hand at the doorway to the kitchen, watching Skyler suspiciously. "Get it and then get back in here and tell us what the hell Stiles wanted."

"He didn't want anything," she grumbled quietly, standing up and stretching her arms above her head.

Her toes curled as she stepped into the kitchen, the floor so cold it nearly hurt her bare feet. She padded across to the mini fridge, crouching down to pick out something to drink. There was a very old bottle of white wine on the bottom shelf. Skyler really hoped that Natalie wasn't saving it for anything special because she was ready to down the entire thing. If she was doing it right, she should be drinking whiskey, the drink of anyone trying to escape their troubles, but the only alcohol in the house was wine and a half drunk 70cl of Smirnoff Vodka.

She threw herself down on a bar stool, rifling through the cutlery drawer to find a bottle opener. She jammed the metal corkscrew into the cork, unnecessarily harshly, then tore it back out. It felt nice to get out a small bit of frustration on the unsuspecting cork of a wine bottle. Sky brought it to her lips, drinking deeply. It tasted so good that Sky didn't even care that she was going to wake up tomorrow morning with a killer hangover. Maybe if she kept drinking and she was still drunk when she arrived at school the next day, then it would be easier to face Stiles.

Why did it have to be Lydia that he loved? Why did he have to be her best friend? Skyler did not have issues with her body image or self esteem problems, but she had always felt inferior to Lydia, always felt that Lydia was so much more than her. Lydia was the Queen Bee and sure, it meant that Sky was one of the popular crowd and she loved that, but she knew that if Lydia hadn't taken her in then she would be nothing at that school. She was always second fiddle to Lydia, in looks, in grades, popularity, but Skyler never resented her friend for it. Lydia wasn't doing it on purpose, it was just who she was naturally, but it was still hard for Sky. Jessica had even told her that Zach had had a serious thing for Lydia up until Jackson had told him to back off. Even the slightly pervy, yet harmless jock, whose attentions made her a little uneasy, had only wanted her when he couldn't have Lydia.

But then she had met Stiles and they had just clicked. Sky loved his personality, his crazy obsessive hilarious personality, a personality that she had not expected to fall for so hard. His attractive face was just a bonus. She hadn't expected him to like her back, but she had also never expected him to be in love with Lydia. As much as Sky cared about them both, and really wanted both of them to be happy, but she could not see the two of them working out. Lydia barely knew his name. It hurt that Stiles would rather go after someone who didn't know his name than Skyler, who knew nearly everything about him and adored him. But the heart works in mysterious ways and it was unfair that Sky was annoyed with him because he didn't like her. People just didn't work that way.

Fuck it. It was pathetic to sit around and cry and pine after Stiles when he didn't want her. Sky had better things to be doing than losing her head over some guy. Like helping Scott with his werewolf problem, finding Derek, comforting Allison, making sure Lydia didn't go nuts. And getting ready for her first Winter Formal in Beacon Hills.

There was no doubt in Skyler's mind that Scott and Allison would've made up by the time the dance rolled around. Lydia and Jackson were undoubtedly going to go together. Sky might put in a good word with Stiles for Erica, her American History partner. Erica was a really sweet girl, but very shy, and was teased mercilessly for the terrible epileptic fits that she suffered from. Skyler could tell that she liked Stiles. When Erica had found out that Sky and Stiles were close she had bombarded her with question after question about him and when Skyler asked why, Erica had just flushed darkly, her eyes gleaming. It would make Erica's day if Stiles asked her to the Formal, and Stiles would like Erica. How could he not? She was one of the nicest people Skyler knew. If not, Skyler knew at least two other girls in their year that had a crush on him. He could be quite a ladies man if he wasn't so hung up on Lydia.

That left Skyler. Going stag didn't seem as fun when she didn't have a friend going stag with her. She chewed her thumbnail, mind sifting through the possibilities. She could just not go. No, that was stupid. Skyler was never one to miss a party, even if it was only a Winter Formal in the school gym. She could ask Stiles, but that would be a step in the wrong direction if she was trying to get over him. Or she could...

There was always her fourth option. It wasn't a bad idea, it could turn out to be quite fun. She wouldn't know unless she tried, right? But what would Stiles think? No, she shouldn't give a shit what Stiles thought. Sky was gonna do it. She was gonna do it. Skyler reached into her pocket, grabbing her phone and unlocking it with a swipe. She deliberated for a few seconds, thumb hovering over her Contacts. Should she, shouldn't she? No. She should, she definitely should. Her crush on Stiles wasn't going anywhere, so why shouldn't she have a little fun? She clicked the button and started to scroll through the names saved in her phone. She reached the last name and tapped call, holding the phone to her ear. She raised the wine as the phone rang, downing five mouthfuls before it was answered.

"Hey, Sky," the voice on the other end was tired, but sounded happy to hear from her. "What's going on?"

"Hey, Zach. Sorry, I know it's kinda late, but I had something to ask." Skyler steeled herself, convincing herself that this was a good idea. Zach was a nice guy, Zach was fun. "It's about the Winter Formal..."


	16. That Time Of The Month Again

_**Sorry that this took a while to post, I had it nearly completed on my laptop but then it crashed, so I had to rewrite most of it on my phone, then email it to myself and go down to the library to post this chapter. I'll try and get the next chapter up soon, hope you enjoy. X**_

Skyler wasn't ready to go back to school on Monday morning. Her head felt like it was going to fall off, her stomach was doing somersaults and every single inch of her felt tingly, and not in a good way. More in a 'I-should-not-have-had-that-much-to-drink-and-now-I-need-a-shower' kinda way. After calling Zach last night, she had finished the bottle of wine by herself, sitting out in the cold kitchen for twenty five minutes until Allison came and dragged her back onto the couch. Sky had managed to distract them from asking anything about the call with Stiles by telling them that she had asked Zach to the Formal. Lydia was, of course, delighted with her and started discussing dresses and whether Skyler should look for something classy or slutty, and Sky immediately regretted the decision to tell them that she had a date to the dance.

She crawled out of bed at half six, still stinking of alcohol, and jumped into the shower. She started to perk up ever so slightly as the hot water poured all over her body, mixed with the delicious smell of Lydia's shampoo. The other two girls were up when she climbed back out of the shower. Allison had gone home to grab clean clothes and reassure her parents that she was perfectly fine, and Lydia was already dressed to perfection and sitting in the kitchen eating a toasted bagel.

"You look like shit, sweetie," she told Sky as the the girl walked into the room wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around her body.

"Yeah, I know," she groaned, filling a glass of water and dropping in two Alka-Seltzers from the packet sitting on the kitchen counter. "The shower made me feel a bit better, but I've still got a raging headache and my feet feel seriously numb. Should I be worried about that?" She knocked back the drink, wincing at the horrible taste as Lydia laughed at her.

"You probably just slept in a strange position," Lydia plucked another bagel out of the toaster and slid it across to Skyler. "There were three of us squashed into one bed."

Skyler snorted, remembering the amount of effort it had taken to fit her, Lydia and Allison in the bed together. She stuck her head in the fridge, searching for the cream cheese. When she found it she let her head rest in there for a second letting it cool her head down.

"Close the damn fridge, Sky. It's bad for the environment."

"Shut up, since when are you an eco-warrior?" Skyler scoffed at Lydia. starting to spread the cheese over the bagel. "Make me some damn coffee, wench. Please?"

"You're lucky I like you," Lydia rolled her eyes, pushing Sky towards the stairs. "Go get dressed."

"Thank you, honey bunch!" Sky called, still eating her bagel as she hopped up the stairs.

Skyler dressed quickly in a white sleeveless blouse tucked into a black skater skirt. They were the only clothes she hadn't slept in or that didn't need a wash. She didn't have any clean socks so she had to borrow a pair of knee high gray ones from Lydia. Thankfully, however, she did have clean underwear and a bra. She packed everything that she had left lying around the room back into her gym bag and hauled it downstairs with her, leaving it in the hall.

"Here, drink it quickly, school starts in half an hour," Lydia wandered out of the kitchen, handing her a cup of coffee. "And sit down, I'll do your hair."

"Thanks." Skyler scurried back into the kitchen, trying not to burn her tongue on the drink. She flopped down on of the kitchen chairs, letting her head drop into one of her hands. "How in the name of fuck are you not hungover?" She asked as she felt Lydia start to run a brush through her hair, working out all the tangles.

"I got plenty of sleep and had a revitalising face cleanse this morning, I feel great," Lydia chirped, twisting a strand of Skyler's hair around her finger. "And I was not the one that drank a whole bottle of wine and then some last night. You should be ashamed," she added, a grin evident in her voice.

"Oh, fuck off. It was Dutch courage."

"Well it's true, sweetie," Lydia started to plait Skyler's hair, tugging on it whenever the girl made a groaning noise. "No more drinking for you for a very long time."

"That, I agree with," Sky laughed as Lydia finished wrapping a hair tie around the end of her plait. She stood up, admiring the long plait that fell over her shoulder. "Shit, we need to go if we wanna make it to school at some point today." She jogged into the living room, sorting through the blankets left all over the floor and couch from last night. She cursed loudly when she found her shoes and realised that they were high heeled combat boots. How was she meant to walk in those today? And they were lace-ups. She wasn't sure she could manage to even tie her laces this morning.

She followed Lydia out to the car, stopping to grab her gym bag in one hand, holding the shoes in the other, her messenger bag slung across her torso. Thankfully the ground was dry enough that she could make it to the car without having to put her stupidly complicated boots on. Skyler took a fifteen minute power nap on the way to school, curling up in the passenger seat. It took all her energy to drag herself out of Lydia's car when they arrived, and an it almost made her physically ill to bend over and tie up her boots. They met up with Allison at the bottom of the school steps. Weirdly enough, she looked just as fresh as Lydia. Bitches.

"You look-"

"Like shit," Sky grinned wickedly at Allison. "I know. And you don't."

"You had about ten times more alcohol than me, and you stayed up until nearly four," Allison giggled back.

"Alright, alright," Sky grumbled, rooting around in her bag for sunglasses. She knew that she would look like a total douche bag wearing them inside, but she needed to hide her ridiculously bloodshot eyes, also she could use them to sleep during class. "I get it, bad decisions were made."

"It's just weird," Allison commented as they entered the main doors. "Everybody's talking about what happened the other night, and nobody knows it was us."

"Thank you for the protection of minors," Lydia smiled as she linked her arm through Sky's.

"Personally, I'd be perfectly happy to forget the whole ordeal and pretend it was someone else completely," Skyler whispered, inspecting her fingernails.

They were quiet for a minute, each of them reflecting on whatever problem they were trying to sort out. Skyler was still fussing over whether she was right to ask Zach to the Formal, or if she was just being petty because of Stiles. Lydia was wondering if she was losing her mind. Skyler had told her that it was a mountain lion at the video store, but it definitely didn't look like any mountain lion she had ever seen before, with it's glowing red eye,. thick black hair and leathery skin, it looked like a creature from her worst nightmares. And Derek Hale could not have managed to tear the school bus apart like that, or the people for that matter. Allison decided her problem was better shared.

"Do you guys think I made the wrong choice?" She asked, voice quavering and the other two immediately knew what she was talking about. Lydia, though, had to hide her emotional, caring side.

"About that jacket with that dress?" Her eyes scanned Allison's outfit. "Absolutely." Sky poked Lydia gently in the side with her elbow.

"You know what I mean," Allison sighed, looking at her friends imploringly.

"Hello?! Scott locked in a classroom and left us for dead," Lydia exclaimed, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He's lucky we're not pressing charges, or making him pay our therapy bills."

"Hello?!" Skyler replied, mimicking Lydia's high pitched voice and earning a withering glare from the girl, then dropping back to her usual pitch. "Scott saved our asses. He went out there alone to face Derek while we all hid in that classroom, and then everyone got super pissed at him."

"He's been lying to me, even before the other night!" Allison threw her hands up in exasperation. She couldn't understand why Sky was so dead set on defending Scott.

"People lie to protect they ones they care about," Skyler explained. "Scott's my friend too, and that night, he put his life on the line for all of us. I get that you need some time away from him to sort out how you feel, but you guys are meant for each other. And Scott is the sweetest guy in the world, you know that."

"I just need to figure out if I can trust him again," Allison whispered, glaring at the floor.

"You need to figure it out soon, 'cause from what Stiles told me, Scott's not handling the breakup too well."

"Yeah..." Allison trailed off as the three of them stopped at a fork in the corridor.

Lydia detached herself from Skyler's arm, throwing out a final comment about how untrustworthy Scott was before turning to the right and striding off towards her homeroom with the customary Lydia hair flick. The other two walked on in silence, Allison was too distracted by her Scott dilemma to talk and Sky was just too hungover. Scott and Stiles were already seated when they entered the room and the only two open spaces were next to both of them.

"You take Scott, I'll take Stiles?"

Sky snorted in amusement, nodding at Allison's suggestion. It worked for her. She made her way through the aisles of desks, making her way to the seat next to Scott and threw herself down, dumping her bag on the floor.

"Morning, Sky," Scott gave a small smile before glancing forward as Allison settled herself in front of Skyler. "You look-"

"I know,"she growled, crossing her arms and tucking her head into the bend of her elbow. "You guys weren't the only ones that were drinking last night."

"At least you managed to get drunk enough to have a hangover," Scott's smile slipped as he remembered his futile attempt to get hammered the night before. "Although, that doesn't seen like an advantage right now."

"It's not," Sky groaned into her arm.

"So... About last night," he started, his eyes flickering to the back of Stiles' head.

"Please, leave it," she murmured, refusing to look up as she heard the classroom door open.

Scott sighed quietly, turning his attention to the top of the room where their homeroom teacher was taking the class register. Allison had to answer in her best impression of Skyler when her name was called, because Sky had decided her homeroom would be better spent sleeping than trying to learn anything. Allison also had to wake her up and drag her to American History, where she thankfully had Erica to cover for her as she slept through that class too. Praise the Lord for her sunglasses. She managed to doze through most of her classes, even power napping at the lunch table during her morning break, building up energy for her econ midterm. According to Coach, the paper was so hard that he wasn't sure if he could pass it.

Skyler dragged herself into the econ room, delighted that she only had one more class until lunch, then it was double Art and English, and lacrosse practice after school. She groaned as she saw Mr Harris standing behind the desk that Coach Finstock usually inhabited. She knew the rule about teacher's not supervising their own exams, but really? She hated Harris, and he hated her. She could feel his eyes on the back of her head as she slouched towards the back of the room. Her eyes flickered between the two open seats in the back row before deciding to nip this situation in the bud and dropped into the seat next to Stiles. He didn't even notice her for a minute, he was too busy tapping his fingers off the desk and reading over his hastily scribbled notes.

"Heya, Stiles," she whispered, leaning across the aisle poking him gently in the shoulder.

He jumped wildly, knee smacking against the underside of the desk, eliciting a string of violent curses from the boy. "Sky! Shit! Hey!"

She laughed despite herself, realising how much she'd missed him in the past few days. God, he was such an idiot. Skyler fought the urge to reach out and touch his face, reminding herself that she was getting over that stupid infatuation.

"How's the head?" She asked, smirking at him.

"I feel like I have a truck parked on it," he replied dryly. "And yours?"

"How did you know I was drinking?"

"Scott," Stiles told her, grinning wider. "He told me to look out for you, said you were a bit under the weather."

"More like under the fucking hurricane. You too, by the looks of it," Skyler pointed out, reclining in her chair. She could feel the underlying tension, both trying to skirt around the subject of their phone call from last night. "Scott told me you drank most of a bottle of Jack."

"Uch. Jack Daniels is not my friend," he insisted, looking sad. "I put my trust in him and he let me down."

"Idiot," she scoffed, watching him with a small smile on her face.

"Mr McCall," Harris' voice grated from the top of the room and both Stiles and Skyler's heads snapped up to see Scott standing in front of Allison's desk, looking down at her forlornly. "Please take a seat." He stood in front of Allison for another few seconds before traipsing to the seat behind Stiles. She heard him fling himself into the seat as Mr Harris started giving instructions. "You have forty five minutes to complete the test. Twenty five percent of your grade can be earned right now simply by writing your name on the cover of the blue book," Harris paused, sighing and observing the students in the room like they were the lowest form of humanity. "However, as happens every year, one of you will inexplicably fail to put your name on the cover, and I'll be left, yet again, questioning my decision to ever become a teacher. So let's get the disappointment over with. Begin."

Wanker. Skyler started her exam by drawing her name right across the blue booklet in 'Life Of Brian' style writing, grinning to herself the whole time. She was more than likely going to fail, she might as well do it with style. To her surprise, she knew the answer to the first question, and the second, and the third. She didn't know the answer to the fourth so she drew a picture of two people playing lacrosse. She hoped that Coach would like it. He had given her extra marks in her last econ test because she had drawn a flip book in the corner of the page of someone shooting a goal in lacrosse. Coach was pretty cool.

Skyler was on the fourteenth question when she heard a clatter behind her and turned in her seat. Scott was leaping out of his chair, breathing heavy and face pale. His desk jumped forward, knocking into the back of Stiles' chair. Scott stooped to pick up his bag and stumbled out of the room, almost starting to hyperventilate as he sped out of the door.

"Mr McCall?" Mr Harris asked, watching Scott questioningly.

Stiles was on his feet before Scott had even left the room, dodging between desks and hurdling bags. He slipped through the open classroom door after Scott, and Sky could hear his feet slapping against the lino covered hall floor.

"Mr Stilinski!"

Skyler sprung up, the chair skittering backwards.

"Ms Gray, if you do not sit down I will personally make sure that you fail this exam and every exam for the rest of your high school career! Do you understand?" Mr Harris leaned forward, palms flat on the desk and staring at Sky like he was daring her to walk out of the room.

"Understood, sir," Skyler spat, sinking back in her chair without breaking eye contact.

She quickly scribbled the first answers that came to mind and circled whatever needed to be circled and outlined really dull shit on some random graphs. Sky was finished before anyone else and flew up, the sunglasses nearly sliding right off her face as she slipped her bag onto her shoulder. She strode up to the teacher's desk and slapped her booklet down on the table, right underneath Mr Harris' nose making him jump in his chair.

"I'm done. Can I go?" She snapped, hopping from one foot to the other impatiently.

"Very creative," he told her, voice sharp as he looked at the illustration of her name on the front cover.

"Can I go?"

He flicked through the booklet as slowly as possible, running his eyes over each answer in turn. He sneered when he reached the little drawing. "You will be marked down for that," he told her coldly, making a note on the answer sheet in his red pen.

"I don't care. Can I go now?"

He sat back, rocking on his chair and sucking his teeth. Sky was really, really ready to fucking punch him. After nearly two minutes, he nodded once and then jerked his head to the door. "You may go."

Skyler was gone before he finished his sentence. She flung the door open so hard that it hit the wall and ricocheted back, nearly smacking her in the face. She stopped, trying to guess which way the boys would've gone. She had only taken a few steps to the right in the direction of the locker room when the bell rang, signalling the beginning of lunch. She growled in frustration before turning back the other way and running as fast she she could in her stupid shoes. The two boys were already huddled together at one of the lunch tables when she skidded into the cafeteria. She hurried across to them, only stopping to grab a can of Coke and a cupcake. She was nearly completely out of breath when she collapsed into the seat across from Stiles and next to Scott.

"What the fuck happened back there?" Sky demanded of them. "I was gonna come and find you guys but Harris made me stay."

"I had a panic attack," Scott mumbled, looking at his lunch like it had greatly betrayed him.

"Jesus, man. You okay?" She asked, placing a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "Why is your shirt wet?"

"We were in the showers," Stiles mumbled through a mouthful of food.

"So you two took off from an exam to go have a happy little romp in the showers together and then Scott had a panic attack?" Skyler screwed her eyebrows up in confusion. "Stiles, if Scott doesn't want to do something, you really shouldn't pressure him into it."

"No!" Scott shouted suddenly making Sky grin at him. "I had the panic attack in class and then I went to the locker rooms so I didn't wolf out and hurt anyone. Then Stiles convinced me that I was just having an asthma attack, so I used an inhaler and calmed down."

"And this panic attack was about?"

"Allison, mainly," Scott refused to meet her gaze. "And because it's a full moon tonight."

"Oh, so it is," Skyler agreed absentmindedly, picking the frosting off of her cupcake and popping it into her mouth. "This isn't your first one, though."

"Yeah, but last time was the night at Lydia's party," Stiles pointed out, raising an eyebrow at them. "And you went nuts and chased after Allison fought Derek and had to get shot by a hunter to stop you from wolfing out and attacking someone."

"So, what's the plan this time?" Sky took a large bite of her cake, turning to try and face both of the boys at the same time.

"I've got a plan," Stiles said vaguely, waving a twisty fry around.

Skyler laughed at the gesture, but Scott looked worried and a small bit angry. He was stabbing his food with an aggression Sky had never seen in Scott before, and it made her wary.

"So, this plan is taking place at Scott's," she shoved more cupcake into her mouth. "What time are we getting there?"

"You're coming?" Stiles sounded surprised at her question, and watched her suspiciously. "You sure you're okay with that? I mean, don't you have anything better to do?"

"No," Sky told him, swallowing the end of her cake and grinning. "I had a very dull evening planned. It involved sitting on my ass, eating raw cookie dough and watching Netflix."

"That sounds much more fun than babysitting a moody teen wolf."

"You know, I'm right here and I can hear everything you're saying," Scott snapped, glaring up at the two of them.

"We weren't trying to be quiet," Skyler smirked back at him.

"Well, you..." Scott's sentence trailed off as his eyes drew upwards to a space above Stiles' head.

"Hey, cutie. What's happenin'?"

Skyler's stomach flipped as Zach dropped into the seat next to Stiles. Oh, fuck. She hadn't told either of the boys about going to the Formal with Zach yet. She knew that Scott wouldn't be too bothered, despite the fact that she knew almost every single detail of Scott's love life, he had never showed any interest in hers. Skyler had a sneaking suspicion that Scott would not want to hear her describing just how cute his best friend's ass was.

"Alright, Zach?" She could see Stiles shift as far away as he could from Zach without making it too obvious.

"Stilinski, McCall," Zach nodded at both of the boys. Scott was too busy moodily examining his tray to notice, and Stiles nodded back stiffly.

"D'you need something?" Sky asked, not unkindly or rudely. She had nothing against him, she just really didn't want him sitting around the table with Scott and Stiles in case he mentioned something Skyler really didn't want him to.

"I wanted to know if you already had a dress for the Formal, and d'you want me to get a matching tie." Something like that. Stiles' body went taut, like a coil of wire that was ready to snap any second. Skyler had to bite her tongue to stop herself screaming out an apology to him, but she really didn't owe him one. She had every right to go to the Formal with whomever she wished, right? Then why did she have that sickening guilty feeling in her gut?

"No, Zach, I don't have a dress yet," she told him hurriedly. "And you get whatever tie you want."

"Okay. I gotta say, I was kinda surprised that you asked me," he took a large bite of the apple in his hand, unaware that the table had fallen uncomfortably silent after his question about the Formal. "I asked Lydia if she thought you'd go with me, but she said you had a thing for someone else."

"Ah, well. We were talking about Formal dates and your name came up and, uh, yeah..." Skyler's mind was racing, trying to think of something to say to make Zach leave without offending him. "So, why aren't you sitting with Jackson?"

"Eh, he's busy with Allison," Zach threw out, not noticing that Scott's head snapped up so fast that Sky was surprised he didn't get whiplash. "They looked pretty cozy, so I left 'em alone." He caught sight of Scott's face and squinted at him. "McCall, weren't you and Allison like going... Oh, sucks man."

Scott gave him a vicious look before standing and storming out of the cafeteria. That left Stiles, Skyler and Zach sitting around the table, no one knowing what to do. Stiles looked ready to throw a punch, Zach kept chewing his apple and smiling at them, and Sky sat across from both boys, feeling sick to her stomach.

"So, d'you wanna get a limo to Formal?"

Jesus fucking Christ. Skyler screwed her eyes shut, pressing the heel of her hand into her forehead and groaning.

"We could share it with Lydia and Jackson," he suggested, reaching across the table and tracing little circles around one of her knuckles with his index finger. It felt nice, but it was nothing compared to the way she felt when Stiles touched her. He was sitting next to Zach, one hand was so tightly clenched into a fist that she though his knuckles would tear through his skin. "And Stilinski, you can come with us if you want."

"Oh, really? How kind," Stiles drawled, his voice taking on a sardonic tone.

"Stiles," Skyler hissed warningly.

"Nah, it's totally cool, there'll be plenty of room," Zach insisted, smiling at Stiles. He was completely unaware of how sarcastic Stiles had been. "Who are you going with Stilinski?"

Stiles copied Scott's earlier moves, standing and walking quickly away from the table, and Sky thought she heard him saying something along the lines of 'Get fucked'. Skyler leaned back in her chair, pulling her hand away from Zach and running it over her face, sighing in frustration. Zach was such a sweet guy, but so fucking oblivious at times.

"Did I say something wrong?" He asked her, looking at her like he was a puppy that had just been kicked.

"No. It's, uh, just been a stressful day for both of them," she bobbed her head awkwardly. "Big econ exam and all that shit."

"Oh. So... Is that a yes or no the limo?" Mother of God, this boy was persistent. "'Cause my uncle owns a limo hire place and we could get a really great deal on one."

"Yeah, yeah. A limo would be great," Sky smiled at him. She was being unfair. All he wanted to do was bring her to the Winter Formal and he was going out of his way to make sure that everything was the way she wanted it to be, and all she could do was worry about what Stiles thought of the situation. "And I'm sure Lyds and Jackson would love to share with us." She shifted awkwardly in her seat.

"Sky," Zach chuckled gently. "Go after Stilinski if you want to. I know you guys are close and there's obviously something up with him."

Skyler's heart swelled as Zach gave her a sympathetic smile, gesturing to the cafeteria doors. She stood up slowly, not breaking eye contact with him.

"Thanks." Sky reached down and grasped his hand for a second, squeezing it. She let it go, hoisting her bag over her arm and picking up her Coke. "We can talk about this another time, though, yeah?"

"Sure," he relaxed back into his seat with his usual uncaring casual act. He might have been a bit of a man whore, and too close to Jackson for liking, but he was a genuinely nice guy when he wanted. Skyler was only a few steps away from the table when she heard Zach call after her. "Hey, Sky. I'm really glad we're going to the dance together."

"Yeah, me too." And the weird thing was that she was telling the truth. She was glad that she was going with him. He was nice and he could be fun, maybe they would end up falling in love and living happily ever after. Unlikely, but possible.

Skyler didn't see Stiles again until the last class of the day. Not for lack of trying, she had spent her last twenty five minutes of lunch looking for him. According to some freshman guy, Stiles had been in the locker room since he had left the cafeteria and he was not too happy. Basically, he had been sulking all through lunch and presumably had worked it out of his system during whatever two classes he had had between lunch and English, because when they entered the classroom he was waiting for her with only a slightly strained smile on his face. They worked through their group discussion of Kafka's 'Metamorphosis', elbowing each other and giggling childishly, until the bell rang and they strolled to the boys locker room with Scott, who was still in a foul mood from earlier. Neither Stiles or Skyler had mentioned the lunchtime conversation with Zach.

"You're staying for practice, right?" Stiles asked, catching hold of her upper arm as she went to walk away. "Maybe today's the day I get to finally play," he added with a wan smile.

"When Coach finally sees how great you are, he'll give you a shot at first line," Sky gently punched him on the arm and his mouth twitched up shyly. "I promise. Now go, young Jedi, your team awaits." He drummed his fingers against her arm for a second before letting her go and turning to enter the locker room.

"So, all sorted with Stilinski?" Zach's head popped up over her shoulder.

"Yeah, all good," Sky faced him, surprised at how close he had managed to get to her with noticing. "Thanks for being so understanding at lunch. We've both just been having a pretty shit time of it recently and sometimes it just gets to you, y'know."

"Would that hard time have anything to do with being trapped in the school the other night?"

"How the fuck do you know about that?"

"I asked Jackson earlier today if he had any idea who was in the school that night," he looked down at her and the tenderness in his eyes took her by surprise, and she drew in a short breath. "He totally bit my head off and told me not to bother him, or you, or Allison, or Lydia about it, and if I wanted to know so badly I could fuck off and ask spastic Stilinski or that asshole McCall. His words, not mine." He reached an arm out slowly like he was afraid that she was going to bolt and took hold of her sunglasses, sliding them off her face and tucking them into the side pocket of her bag.

"All we heard is that there were six students in there that night, and you and Stilinski look hungover as fuck. I assume that you guys were drinking to forget your troubles, and I just put two and two together," Zach added when she didn't reply.

"Yeah, it was the six of us there that night, and not to be rude, but I seriously do not want to talk about it," Skyler crossed her arms over her chest and let her head drop forward.

"I wasn't gonna ask, I was just gonna tell you that if you ever needed to talk, I'm open. And not just you," Zach awkwardly rubbed her arm in the same place that Stiles had been holding a minute or two ago. "I mean, I know Stilinski and McCall don't like me for whatever reason, and that's totally fine, but any time they need to chill or grab a drink or talk, they're welcome to come over to mine, or any of the guys' houses. We go out drinking or to a movie for guys night, and I'm sure everyone'd be happy if they came along. Just tell 'em, yeah?"

Skyler flung herself forward into Zach's arms. She had never seen this side of him before but she really liked it. She felt him wrap his arms around her waist, pulling her into him. Sky let herself fold against his chest, heart nearly bursting as she thought about what he had said about Scott and Stiles, inviting them to guys night even when both of them had totally blown him off. She decided to try her utmost to get Stiles and Scott to hang out with Zach a bit more.

"I need to, uh, get to practice. Coach said he had some announcements to make, so..." They pulled apart, Sky shuffling awkwardly at the sudden hug.

"Yeah. Sorry for keeping you. And, uh, thanks." She rubbed the back of her neck, a habit she had picked up from Stiles, and gave Zach a sweet smile. "For being such a nice guy."

"Anytime, cutie." Zach made to move past her but stopped at the last second, reaching up to cup the back of her head with one hand and leaning down to press his lips to hers. It was a very odd sensation to be kissing Zach. It was not unpleasant, but it was not particularly breathtaking either. She closed her eyes and let him kiss her, feeling him move closer and closer until their bodies were pressed together. When he let go of her and stepped back, Sky had to fight the urge to rub her mouth. Zach's lips had left a very strange feeling, like she had just kissed Scott or Danny.

"I should go," Zach smiled at her and laughed nervously. He moved forward, but this time kept walking and pushed through the locker room door.

Skyler kept standing there, staring after him. She wasn't quite sure what to think of what had happened. One second they had been chatting normally, like friends do, and then they had been kissing. Alright, so it hadn't been an epic romantic make out session, but it was enough to confuse Sky. She felt bad for letting it happen, she was leading him on and that was unfair. She already felt pretty awful about going to the Formal with him because she had never specified that she was only interested in being friends, at least until she was sure that she no longer had feelings for Stiles.

"I saw that!"

"Son of a bitch!" Skyler nearly jumped out of her skin as she heard Lydia's voice in her ear.

"You totally kissed Zach!" Lydia exclaimed, gripping Sky's arm so tight that it hurt.

"He totally kissed me," she replied, shaking Lydia's hand off of her arm and turning her back to the girl.

"Doesn't matter!" Lydia shrieked, zipping around to stand in front of Sky again. "Your lips touched his lips! How was it?!"

"Like kissing a cousin or something," Skyler explained, screwing her face up.

"That's gross," Lydia commented.

"It wasn't a gross kiss or anything," Sky twisted her fingers around her bag strap, starting to stroll towards the door that led out to the lacrosse field. "It just felt wrong."

"Are you still hung up on Stilinski?" She rolled her eyes and sped up to walk alongside Skyler.

"I was never hung up on him," she lied through her teeth. "And I think I just need to get to know Zach a bit more."

"I should've guessed you'd be one of those people."

"One of what people?" Sky inquired, suspicious of Lydia's tone of voice.

"One of the people that insists on getting to know someone before sleeping with them," Lydia clarified, her voice light.

"You mean people that aren't sluts? One of those people?" Skyler laughed, biting her bottom lip and poking Lydia in the side. "Well then I am quite glad that I am one of those people. And I wasn't gonna sleep with him."

"Why not?"

"He's getting a limo for the Formal, and he was wondering if you and Jackson wanted to share it," Sky changed the subject as quickly as possible.

Lydia made a sad little huffing sound, crossing her arms. "We'll share if I decide to go with him."

"Hey, you guys alright? I know some shit went down the night in the school, but..." Skyler stopped dead just down the hall from Coach's office, holding onto to Lydia and spinning the girl to face her. She couldn't help but smirk inwardly as she saw the cardboard that had been sellotaped over the space where the window had been in the door of the office. The one she had smashed in with a golf club. That part of the night had actually been quite fun. She missed her golf club.

"We haven't really spoken since then," Lydia tried to keep her voice calm, but Skyler could hear the anger and hurt slipping through. "He's much too busy with Allison."

"D'you think that him and Allison are, well, you know, getting it on?" Sky knew that the questions probably made Lydia uncomfortable, but being Lydia's best friend she should be able to ask this kind of thing.

"I don't know," Lydia whispered. She looked so vulnerable and her voice sounded so small that it made Skyler's heart break a bit inside. "He spends so much time with her since she ended it with Scott. And she keeps flirting with him, she doesn't exactly try to hide it." Lydia was getting higher and higher, and Skyler had to grip her shoulders and shake her gently.

"Look, Allison probably has no idea what she's doing, okay?" Sky gave a small chuckle. "You know how innocent she is. She more than likely just thinks that she's being polite."

"Well, whatever, anyway," Lydia flipped her hair and straightened up as boys starting pouring out of the locker room. "If he can screw around, then so can I." Her eyes moved over all of the boys milling around the hallway.

"I really don't think that that's a good idea, Lyds," Sky followed Lydia's gaze. Stiles and Scott were standing just outside the locker room door. Scott was wearing a dark and brooding expression but Stiles was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, looking delighted with himself. "You don't even know what's going on between the two of them, don't do something you'll regret."

"Yeah, yeah," Lydia waved one hand dismissively while reapplying her lipstick with the other.

"Don't bother listening to me then, I'm just your long suffering best friend," Sky sighed dramatically. She could see Stiles out of the corner of his eye, pointing wildly between her and Lydia then pushing Scott in their direction. The floppy haired teen slouched over to the two girls, moving inbetween them and turned to talk to Lydia, his back pushed into Sky's face.

"Hey, Lydia" Scott's voice was notably deeper than usual, slightly husky. "Can we talk for a second?"

"Of course," Lydia smiled at him sweetly and spun on her heel, shooting him a coy look over her shoulder as she let herself into the Coach's office.

"Something you'll regret," Skyler singsonged after her as she closed the office door behind Scott. But she couldn't dwell on what her two friends were discussing because within a few seconds of the door clicking shut Stiles practically crashed into her, smacking her in the elbow with his lacrosse stick.

"Jesus, Stilinski, what's up with you?" Sky jumped backwards to avoid being hit again.

"I have good news and better news! Which d'you wanna hear first?" Stiles was hopping from foot to foot, doing a weird little victory jig, waving that stupid lacrosse stick haphazardly and not giving her time to answer. "Okay, I'll tell you the good news first and then the better news. Scott got made co-captain! Him and Jackson have to work together, which I don't see ending well, but still! That's pretty awesome!"

"That's great," Sky replied, a bit taken aback at Stiles' sudden outburst of excitement. "If that's the good news, then what's the better news?"

"I got first line!" He shouted, throwing his arms wide.

"Holy shit! That's incredible!" Skyler wrapped her arms around his chest, snuggling into the soft fabric of his lacrosse jersey. "I told you so! I told you that the Coach would realise how good you are!"

Stiles dropped the lacrosse stick, letting it clatter to the floor by their feet and wound his arms around her neck. He laughed quietly in her ear and Sky could feel one of his hands splayed across the nape of her neck pressing her even harder against him. "Yeah, Greenberg got pinkeye and he managed to infect some of the other players, so I made first line on a probationary basis according to Coach." Stiles picked Sky up suddenly and spun her around, both of them laughing in delight before he dropped her back onto her feet. She stumbled backwards, still giggling and starting to feel light headed. He lowered his hands to the small of her back, keeping her from falling on her ass. "He did think that my name was Bilinski, so I have to change my name to Biles, but I am so cool with that. I'm gonna get to play Sky! In an actual match!"

"Oh, Stiles, your dad is going to be so proud," Sky murmured, smiling fondly at Stiles who was still bouncing.

"I can't wait to tell him," Stiles beamed down at her. "He's working tonight but I'm gonna stop by the station before I go to Scott's. If you really wanna help with him tonight, I'll meet you at about eight at Scott's?"

"Sounds good."

"Hey, Stilinski!" Zach's head popped up over Stiles shoulder, grinning at her. He was developing a habit of appearing out of nowhere and it was quite unsettling. Stiles removed one hand, but kept the other pressed against the base of her spine, and turned so that they were pressed side to side instead of face to face. "Congrats man, first line! A few of us were gonna hang out tonight, have a few drinks at Brian's if you and McCall, and Sky, of course, want to come over."

"Sky and I," Stiles told him stiffly, pulling Skyler closer to him and curling his hand around her waist, "Already have plans tonight."

Zach nodded slowly, and Skyler could see his eyes flicker down to Stiles' possessive arm around her. His smile faltered and dropped a bit. "Well, next time maybe?"

"Mmm," Stiles made a small noncommittal noise, looking over Zach's shoulder and trying to avoid making eye contact with him.

"Oh, alright then," Zach rocked backwards on his heels, blowing out a long breath. When he realised that his and Stiles' conversation was over for now he took a step forward, stopping next to Skyler and bending down to kiss her cheek. "I'll text you later."

Stiles didn't let go of her until Zach was out the door and onto the lacrosse field. He bent down, snatching his lacrosse stick off the ground and walked back a few steps to where he had dropped his gym bag when he had left the locker room. He turned back around, refusing to look at her.

"Stiles," she breathed out, catching his arm as he walked past her.

"You don't need to explain yourself to me," Stiles whispered, ducking his head.

"I know, but Zach's a nice guy and he's my friend," Skyler explained, tugging him closer to her and trying to make him look up at her.

"It's really not my business..."

"Stiles, you are one of my best friends, and he's trying pretty hard to get to know you," Sky placed a finger under his chin and tilted his head up to look at her. "He knows that it was us in the school the other night, and he said that he would always be there if I needed to talk. But he said that if you or Scott ever needed to talk either, and he invited you to his guys night as well. He really is trying."

"Would it mean that much to you?" He asked quietly, nuzzling his chin down against her finger adorably.

"It kinda would, Stilinski."

"Fine then," Stiles sighed, taking hold of the hand that was still poking his chin and pulling it away from his face. "Next time he has a guys night, I'll go. But only if Scott is going too."

"Thank you, Stiles. So much." Skyler was about to pull him in for another hug when they heard Finstock yelling from behind them.

"Ass on the field, Bilinski! Warm up starts in five!" He strode past them, blowing his whistle as loud as he could right in Stiles' ear.

"Got it, Coach," he ground out, rubbing his ear. "I need to go and practice for my first game on first line," Stiles added with a self-satisfied grin.

"Go on then, go be MVP of the training session," Sky smiled, pushing him towards the door. "I gotta head to my locker and then I'll be out to watch."

They parted ways, Stiles scurrying after the Coach and Skyler making her way back to her locker a few corridors away. She found her Biology book as quickly as possible and stuffed it into her bag along with her sketchbook, then slammed the locker shut and spun the dial. She could do some of her homework sitting on the bleachers with Lydia, and she could finish it off at Scott's that night. Stiles always helped her with her Maths because he was so much better at it.

Sky was texting Rebecca to let her know that she would be home late after lacrosse practice when she reached the Coach's office and noticed Lydia standing in the doorway. She stopped at the corner of the hallway, poking her head around and watching her friend. She was speaking to someone still in the office, twirling her hair around her finger in the way she usually did when she was flirting. She laughed softly and Scott stepped forwards out of the office, kissing Lydia quickly before leaning against the door frame and watching as Lydia walked away, pushing through the door to the lacrosse field.

"Fucking hell, Scott!" He turned slowly to face her, smirking as he did.

"What's the matter, Sky? Jealous?"

She moved to stand in front of him, shoving him back into the half open door of the office. "I know you're upset over Allison, but making out with Lydia is not gonna help you feel better!" Skyler snapped, getting irritated with Scott's stupid grinning face.

"Just having a little fun, Sky," he rolled his eyes, "Don't get so damn worked up."

"Don't screw Lydia around," she punctuated each word with a harsh poke. "Her and Jackson are going through some shit right now so don't you dare mess with her head! Understand?"

"Alright," Scott let out a breathy chuckle and reached out to take hold of her elbow. "Look, Stiles wanted me to talk to you, can you at least be civil long enough for me to tell you what he wanted to say?"

"Fine," she hissed, trying to stop herself from kicking his viciously in the shins. "What was so important that he couldn't just tell me himself?"

"It's better if we, you know," Scott jerked his head towards the office, starting to walk in backwards and pulling Skyler with him. "So no one can hear us. It's about you know what."

Sky sighed and followed him, huffing and hoping that this bullshit was just part of the full moon and he would be back to sweet and innocent tomorrow. She pulled her elbow out of his grip and went to sit on the Coach's desk, crossing one leg over another. Scott closed the door quietly, pushing it until he heard the soft click of the door shutting. He turned around to face her, back leaning against the door. Sky saw his eyes run down from her face to her legs where her skirt was riding up her thigh. She uncrossed her legs and stood back up, leaning back against the edge of the desk. She suddenly felt uncomfortable under Scott's gaze and wondered whether or not it had been a good idea to follow him into the office.

"My face is up here, Scott," Skyler snapped, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Scott replied absentmindedly, tearing his eyes away from her legs and back up to look her in the eyes.

"Look, what the hell did Stiles want, 'cause you need to get to practice," Sky told him, crossing her arms as he kicked off the door, slinking towards her.

"So, you're going to the Formal with Zach?" Scott asked, the side of his mouth quirked up in amusement.

"Yeah," she bit back defensively. "Is that what Stiles wanted to ask?"

"You think Stiles cares?" Scott laughed again and Sky felt the anger and frustration well up inside her.

"What the fuck d'you want then?" She nearly yelled, wanting to smack that insanely infuriating look off of her friends face.

"D'you really think that Stiles cares in the slightest about what you do?" He asked and Sky could hear the malice in his voice. It was almost like he was trying to get a rise out of her.

"I'm not in the mood for this bullshit, Scott," she mumbled, shifting uncomfortably. She stood up straight and taking a step away from the desk. "Just leave me alone."

"What I want to know is why you felt guilty when Stiles found out," Scott asked, keeping up his slow and steady pace until he was chest to chest with her. It wasn't in her nature to back down, but she had to take a faltering step backwards to stop him from coming in physical contact with her. "Why your heart rate always speeds up when he's around. Why you will always care about what he thinks of you, even though you mean nothing to him."

"Fuck off," Sky whispered, her voice shaking and a lump forming in her throat. She knew that she should ignore Scott, but he was playing on her insecurities and he was very good at it. "This is the full moon, not you. You don't mean this."

He took one long step towards Skyler, forcing her back into the desk. She jumped as her spine banged painfully against the hard wood. "You're nothing to him but a means to an end. If he's friends with you then he has a reason to be around Lydia. I mean he was drunk and he only called you so that you would talk to Lydia for him. You gotta see how pathetic that is." Scott gave her a mocking sympathetic look, placing one hand flat on the desk next to her hip and reaching the other up to tuck a strand of hair that had fallen out of her braid behind her ear. "Is that why you're going to the dance with Zach? To try and punish Stiles?" He gave a harsh laugh and slammed his other hand down on the desk as well, keeping Sky trapped between his arms.

"Scott, I am warning you to back the fuck up, right now!" She tried to demand but she could barely speak. She was scared, truly scared of Scott. It was the first time she had ever felt threatened by him even after she found out that he was a werewolf.

"He doesn't care, little Sky. You could screw the entire lacrosse team and Stiles couldn't care less," Scott pressed even closer to her, sliding himself inbetween her legs and pushing her back until she was sitting on the Coach's desk again. Skyler squirmed against him, resting her hands against his chest and pushing as hard as she could. He laughed at her futile attempts to move him and ducked his head, lips nearly brushing her cheek as he spoke again. "But if you're so damn desperate to make him jealous, there is one thing you could do."

And then he was kissing her. Scott Mc-fucking-Call was kissing Sky. It was not like kissing Zach, or nearly kissing Stiles, it was harsh and invasive and felt so wrong. He was her best friend's ex and the best friend of the guy she was trying to get over. She could feel one of his hands moving to grip her waist, fingers digging in and the other moved to her neck, stopping her from drawing back. She growled as best she could with her lips pressed to his. Sky opened her lips slightly as she felt Scott's mouth move against hers, and bit his bottom lip as hard as she could. She felt him jump back in surprise, letting out a little yell. She moved with him, teeth still digging into him, pressing harder and harder until she felt blood well up, and only then let him go.

"Jesus, Gray. Never knew you liked it rough," Scott grinned wildly, running a finger over his lower lip.

"Get the fuck away from me, Scott. I mean it," Skyler warned him, reaching behind her, grabbing a pen from the desk and brandishing it at him.

He opened his mouth, taking a step in her direction when, for the second time in ten minutes, Finstock interrupted.

"McCall, where the hell are you?"

Scott wiped the blood off of his lip and Sky could see that the cut was already healed.

"Coming Coach," he shouted back without taking his eyes off Skyler. He winked at her, eyes burning with amusement. Scott laughed once more, snagged his lacrosse stick and left the office, closing the door behind him.

Skyler's legs were struggling to hold her up. She felt sick and shivery, her entire body trembling violently. She reached up to scrub her lips with the back of her hand. She was surprised when a sob burst out of her throat. What made it worse was that she knew Scott had just kissed Lydia. God, it was all so fucked up. She sat on the floor, tears pouring down her face, shoulders heaving. She had absolutely no idea why she was crying, it just felt like the appropriate thing to do right now.

She gave herself two minutes to cry then clamped her hand over her mouth, forcing herself to stop. Skyler was thankful that she didn't put on any make-up that morning so she didn't have any running mascara or smudged eyeliner to deal with. Pulling herself up from the floor, she dusted down her skirt, wobbling slightly on her heels. No one needed to know about that. Especially not Lydia or Allison or Stiles, none of them would hear it from her anyway and she hoped that, even under the influence of the full moon, Scott would not be vindictive enough to tell any of them. It would just cause unnecessary pain for everyone involved.

Sky left the Coach's office after a minute of calming herself down and trying to convince herself that it was no big deal. All she wanted to do now was go home and shower for the second time that day to wash the horrible feeling off her skin. But she had to stay for practice, all of her bags were in Lydia's car and she was Skyler's ride home. She would probably get back in time to shower before dinner, take a quick nap and watch some TV before heading to Scott's. She was strongly tempted to skip the werewolf babysitting session tonight. She had no desire to see Scott again that night, or anytime in the near future, but she couldn't leave Stiles on his own with the teen wolf. And if she left them on their own and Scott let slip that they had kissed, well that would open up a whole new can of worms, and that was the last thing she needed. Skyler ran a hand over her face, sighing in exhaustion. It was going to be one hell of a night.


	17. Full Moon Blues

_**Hey, I am really, really sorry. I know it's been ages, but I've just started back at school and the teachers are being awful so I haven't had any time to write and I just got my laptop back so this chapter has taken me WAY too long. Hopefully, I'll have more time to work on the story soon. Also, thanks for all the amazing feedback, you guys are the absolute best and I hope you enjoy this chapter Xx**_

"Are you sure that you're alright?" Skyler asked, sitting down on the edge of her bed.

"I told you, it was just a bloody nose," Danny told for the near millionth time.

"Yeah, but it looked seriously painful," Sky replied, putting her phone on speaker and rubbed her hair vigourously with her towel, trying to stop it dripping on her bed.

"It's fine," he emphasised and she cold practically hear him rolling his eyes. "I gotta go now, my mom's calling me for dinner. It's spaghetti."

"Well enjoy your spaghetti, and if the bleeding starts again just go to a hospital or something. Scott hit you pretty damn hard." Sky had been upset when Scott had kissed her, even a little angry, but when he had hit Danny in training, then she had just been downright furious. Thankfully it hadn't been too serious, because if it had, Sky would've beaten the crap outta him.

"God, you're such a mother hen, Gray," Danny complained at her. "Bye, love you."

"Love you, too!" She called out, hanging up on him.

Sky lay back on her bed, curling up in her bathrobe. She was so sick and tired of everyone right now. Allison and Jackson were practically going at it right in front of Lydia, Lydia had taken it upon herself to get revenge by screwing around with whomever was on hand, Scott was being a complete asshole, although that was the full moon. And she couldn't even look at Stiles without remembering what Scott had whispered to her in the office. She had been twitchy the entire ride home after lacrosse practice, feeling sick as she thought of what had happened between her and Scott, and Lydia and Scott.

Lydia hadn't brought up what she had done with Scott and Sky was not ready to push the subject. She could feel the self-satisfied vibes pouring off Lydia in waves. She could only hope that Jackson never found out, it would only paint an even larger target on Scott's back. It had taken Lydia almost a minute to snap Skyler out of her daze when she reached Sky's house. She barely said goodbye to the girl before she was out of the car and in the house.

Rebecca had been able to tell within seconds that something was wrong from the way Sky jumped at every small sound or sudden movement. She had sent Skyler upstairs after five minutes because she kept banging into things or knocking them over and it was getting irritating. Once Sky had showered she texted Stiles to confirm their meeting time at Scott's that night and then rang Danny to make sure that he was alright. Everything she was doing was just a way of distracting herself from what was going to happen that night. If the full moon affected Scott that strongly, then what the fuck was it going to do to the Alpha?

With that delightful thought in mind, Sky realised that she needed another distraction to fill up the hour and a half until she needed to be at Scott's. She busied herself getting dressed over and over again until she finally chose what to wear. It had taken her just under twenty five minutes and seven outfit changes before she settled on a sleeveless denim dress, knee high maroon socks, galaxy patterned Doctor Martens and her Gryffindor Quidditch sweatshirt. If she was going to be babysitting a werewolf, she was going to be comfy doing it at least.

"Skkkkkkyyyyy! Dinner!"

She hopped down the stairs, shaking her hair out into loose waves. Rebecca was curled up on the couch when she entered the sitting room, and the woman just gestured vaguely towards the kitchen and grunted something through a mouthful of pasta and chicken. She found a plate on the counter with a sippy cup of vanilla milkshake next to it.

"Becca?" Skyler asked, settling herself on the opposite side of the sofa. "Why is my drink in a baby cup? And why do you have a baby cup?"

"Because there's something up with you today and I am not running the risk of you spilling milkshake on my sofa. That shit never comes out," Rebecca told her good naturedly, glancing her way. "And it was from when my sister and her daughter stayed, Lizzy's only one, and she left a cup here. You look lovely by the way."

"Thanks, Becks," she smiled back, shoveling a loaded forkful of pasta into her mouth.

"So, what is up with you?" Rebecca raised an eyebrow at Skyler wearing her best 'No Bullshit' expression.

"I've no idea what you mean."

"Please don't lie to me. If it's something from that night in the school, you don't even have to give specifics, just let me know if there's anything I can do to help," Rebecca's face was so open and trusting that Sky knew that she had to give the woman something, anything to stop her worrying.

"Alright, so hypothetically, if there were six people, call them Persons A through F. So person A and person B are in an adorable relationship and really love each other, but then person A starts to think that person B is lying to them. So person A breaks up with person B, got it?" Sky was racking her brain to find a way to explain this without using names or mentioning anything to do with werewolves. "And then person A starts flirting with person C, but person C is dating person D, and person A and person D are really close friends. So to get even with person C, person D kisses person B. Then person B kisses person E, even though person E likes person F and really doesn't want to kiss person B, and person F and person B are best friends. Also, person F is in love with person D."

"What the fuck did you just say to me?" Rebecca's mouth was hanging open, and she was squinting so hard that her eyes were nearly screwed shut.

"Allison broke up with Scott 'cause she thought that he was lying to her, and then she started flirting with Jackson, so Lydia got pissed off and made out with Scott to get back at them, then Scott kissed me, but I really didn't want him to, 'cause I like Stiles, but Stiles is in love with Lydia." It all came pouring out of her mouth in an unstoppable stream of teenage drama.

"I knew you liked Stiles!"

"Really?" Sky asked incredulously. "That's all you have to say?"

"No, I'm just saying that I knew you did," Rebecca replied defensively. "So, why did Scott kiss you again? And Lydia, too?"

"To get back at Allison I guess, and Lydia wanted to get back at Jackson and Allison for flirting. She thinks they're screwing around. He's not usually like this, he's just doing really badly after the breakup," Skyler explained, her dinner left forgotten on the arm of the sofa. It felt good to get this all off her chest. "But Stiles is in love with Lydia and he's gonna be so heartbroken when he finds out. And if Jackson finds out, well shit, Jackson's absolutely gonna lose it."

"Well, does Stiles know how you feel?" Becca inquired.

"No, I'm hardly going to tell him. He's been in love with my best friend since they were in third grade," Sky explained, picking at her sleeve, "And it would totally screw up our friendship if he doesn't feel the same way. Which he doesn't."

"I don't know, I've seen the two of you together. It's like you light up when he enters the room, and it's the same with him." That brought a smile to Sky's face, but she had to say that she had never noticed any change in Stiles when she was around. Maybe slightly more nerdy than he would've been otherwise, but that was because he someone to be nerdy with.

"We're just good friends," she reiterated. "I just don't know what to do about any of it."

"Stiles needs to know what happened between Scott and Lydia, he will find out sooner or later and if he thinks that you're keeping things from him it could cause problems." Sky felt like she should be writing this down, it was the only way she could think of to keep everything straight in her head. "And you should probably tell him about you and Scott too, even if you two aren't together, it would be better to have everything out in the open. As for Lydia, Allison and Jackson, you just have to try and talk sense into them. There's nothing more you can do for them, and you shouldn't have to. It's not your place to sort out their relationship troubles."

"I know, I just feel like there should be something I can do to help," Sky mumbled, dissatisfied with the idea of leaving her three friends to their own devices. She could sense a storm coming and she was not planning on being caught in the middle. "I'll talk to Stiles tonight, at least."

"Are you gonna see him tonight?" Rebecca sent her a little smirk. "Is it a daaaate?" She asked, drawing out the word and using a sing-song tone.

"No, the three of us have a school project we need to work on." It made Sky a little uncomfortable at how natural lying had started to feel. "So, I won't be back until about midnight."

"Three of you? Scott's gonna be there?" Rebecca let out a low whistle, raising an eyebrow. "That's gonna be awkward. You should probably get in there and talk to Stiles before the three of you are together."

"Yeah." She pulled her plate back onto her lap, popping a piece of chicken into her mouth. "Becca, thanks. For everything in the past few days."

"You know I'm always here in you need me. I love you, sweetie." Sky's heart jumped nearly painfully inside her ribcage, looking over at the side of Rebecca's face. She picked up her plate and sippy cup, scooting along the sofa until she was next to Becca. Skyler hesitated for a second before lying against Rebecca's side, resting her head on the woman's shoulder. Rebecca lifted her arm, wrapping it around Sky and pulling her closer.

"Love you too, Becks."

The rest of their dinner was eaten in silence apart from the occasional abuse the two women hurled at game show contestants. When they were done Sky helped her to clean the kitchen before sitting down for some homemade chocolate cake and coffee. Neither of them felt the need to talk unless Rebecca was making a stupid comment about Sky and Stiles being in love. At twenty to eight, Sky ran upstairs to grab her yellow leather satchel, stuffing her keys and phone into it as she darted around the room. She hovered at the mirror for a second before rubbing on some lip gloss and running a brush through her wavy hair. She rooted through her jewelry box, trying to find the necklace Stiles had given her last week.

He had been in an occult shop, searching for books on werewolves when he had found it. It was beautiful, and not just the necklace, the presentation too. Stiles had given it to her in a little blue gift box wrapped with ribbon, the inside stuffed with white crepe paper. The necklace was a tiny dark blue dream catcher with speckled brown feathers on a leather cord and brown beads running up either side. He had even paid extra to have a small wooden wolf charm added on and wrapped in the store. Skyler grinned as she picked it out of the box and slipped it over her head. She ran her finger over one of the feathers, smiling softly as she left her room.

"I'm gone, Becca!" Sky called out as she opened the front door, shivering at the rush of cold air. "I'll see you later!"

"Make sure you talk to Stiles!" Rebecca replied from the sitting room. "And use protection!"

"That's disgusting!"

She laughed to herself as she left the house, pulling the door shut behind her. Her baby was sitting in the driveway, beautifully buffed and polished to attention. Sky was surprised that her father hadn't clamped her car within the past few days, it seemed like something he'd do. She slipped into the driver's seat and turned the key in the ignition. She hadn't driven her car in days and it felt nice to sit back and listen to the purr of the engine.

There were only two lights on in Scott's house when she pulled up there fifteen minutes later, the kitchen and Scott's room, but there was only one car in the driveway. Melissa's was gone, thankfully she was working the night shift at the hospital, but the Jeep was parked haphazardly across the concrete. Shit. She wasn't going to have any time to speak to Stiles alone, she just hoped that Scott hadn't mouthed off.

Skyler tripped out of the car hurriedly, kicking the door behind her and dashing up to the front door. She tried the handle, finding that the door was unlocked. It was quiet when he entered the house, the only thing she could hear was a faint clanging sound from one of the upstairs rooms, and a hushed trickling from the kitchen. Sky felt more and more apprehensive as she moved through the house, wondering what the noise from upstairs was. She crept through the living room towards the arch of the kitchen, craning her neck around the wall.

"Stiles."

He jumped a good half a foot in the air, spilling water from whatever he was filling at the sink. He dropped the container in the sink with a clatter. As he turned around Sky could see the angry flush in his cheeks and the tense set of his shoulders. Something had gone wrong since Stiles had arrived, that much was obvious.

"Jesus, you scared me," he told her. One hand was placed over his heart and he was gasping desperately for breath. "When did you get here?"

"Twenty seconds ago." Skyler walked over to the counter, spinning around and hopping up onto the surface. "You okay?"

"W-w-why, why would you ask that?" He stuttered out, hand running over his short hair.

"You look tense and angry, and I just wanna know if everything's alright," she asked, pulling his sleeve. He let out a short breathy laugh and shuffled over to stand in front of her, chest and stomach pressed to her legs.

"Can I be honest with you?" Stiles asked her quietly, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Yeah, you always can," Sky told him, one hand holding the edge of the counter, the other pushing Stiles' shoulder back until she could look at him properly.

"I asked Scott if he could sense whether or not Lydia liked me in anyway 'cause Scott can sense emotions." Oh dear God. That was what Scott was meant to ask Lydia when they went into the office together. Oh, fuck. Did Stiles know what happened between them. "And he went into Coach's office with her... And they kissed. He fucking kissed her, Sky. He fucking..."

Skyler pulled him into a hug, letting him slide between her legs until they were practically wrapped around him. Stiles dropped his head back onto her shoulder and let his arms fall around her waist. She cupped the back of Stiles' head with one hand and slid the other around his neck. Sky was fighting as hard as she could to punch Stiles. She knew that she told him he could be honest, and she knew that Rebecca had told her to tell Stiles about what happened between Lydia and Scott, and her and Scott too, but fucking hell did it hurt. She was going to get over him though, she was going to give herself tonight and then she was going to start moving on.

"Stiles, it's just the full moon. You know that Scott would never-" Skyler started, the words feeling acidic in her mouth as she sat there and defended his best friend that had made out with the girl he loved.

"I know, but it still sucks. At least I'm getting some payback now," Stiles pulled back, smirking through the pained expression.

"What the hell did you do to him?" Sky asked worriedly, fearing slightly for Scott's safety as she saw the glint in Stiles' eye.

"Handcuffed him to the radiator."

Skyler laughed so hard she felt like her lungs were going to burst. Stiles pulled away from her, giving her room to laugh. He stood in the middle of the kitchen watching Sky laugh so hard she nearly fell off the counter. It took nearly five minutes to calm herself down until she was just hiccuping and giggling quietly. Stiles was watching her with an odd expression on her face. It was the same kind of look her got when they were watching the Discovery Channel and there were leopard cubs rolling around together. It was like a weird look of adoration.

"Are you alright?" Stiles bit back a grin as he watched her descend into snorting laughter.

"Water, please," Sky gasped, jumping off the counter and clutching her stomach.

He filled a glass with water and held it out to her. Her hands were still shaking as she reached out to take it, spilling some of it down her front and nearly dropping the glass. Stiles sighed loudly in fake annoyance, tugging the cup out of her grasp.

"Dear God, you can't even drink properly. Tip your head back and open your mouth," he instructed, poking her in the forehead.

"Why?" Sky asked him but obliged, bending her head back and letting her mouth fall open.

"Because I said so," Stiles retorted in an amused voice.

Sky closed her eyes, trying to keep herself from grinning too much. There was a pause and then she felt her mouth filling with water. She snorted, and tried to keep the water from spilling over her chin. Opening her eyes she could see Stiles above her, grinning unabashedly as he tipped the contents of the glass into her mouth. When he was finished he nodded at her, letting her swallow what was in her mouth. The entire situation was so ridiculous that she second she had swallowed, she started laughing again. That set Stiles off and the two of them spent the next ten minutes sitting on the floor giggling stupidly together. It was nice for both of them to be able to forget about the chained up werewolf upstairs. At least until, Skyler put her hand in the water that Stiles had spilled when she entered the kitchen and huffed in irritation.

"What the hell were you doing when I came in?" Sky asked, clambering to her feet and drying her hand on the bottom of her dress.

"Getting Scott a drink," Stiles told her, pulling himself up next to her.

"Should we bring it up to him? I know he's being a dick right now, but we can't let him die of thirst," Sky reasoned, watching Stiles move back to the kitchen sink.

"He doesn't really deserve it, but fine," Stiles sniffed angrily, picking up a metal bowl from the sink.

"Jesus, Stiles." He was holding a small round water bowl for dogs with the word 'SCOTT' written on the side in thick magic marker. "I know you're mad, but really?"

"Well the way I was feeling, it was either this or I steal my dad's taser and tase him repeatedly until I feel better," Stiles explained. He moved to the fridge, dog bowl still held in one hand, and plucked a bottle of water from the inside of the fridge door. "The puppy could use something to drink."

"Just don't go overboard, Stiles. You never know what he could tonight," Sky warned the boy, following him out of the kitchen. His entire demeanour had changed the second she had brought up the subject of Scott. He was rigid, arms tucked tight into his sides, strangely still for such a hyperactive teen. He took the stairs two at a time, Skyler scurrying along behind him. She felt a bit sick at the prospect of seeing Scott again after what had happened before practice earlier that day. It wasn't her fault, she knew that, but even the memory of the event made her squirm uncomfortably. The way he had looked at her was just as invasive as the kiss had been, it was like he was seeing right into her soul and it made her feel seriously icky.

"Stiles," she caught his arm as they stepped onto the landing, lowering her voice and hoping that Scott couldn't hear them. "Maybe it's better if you go in there on your own. I don't think he'd want to see me."

"I don't think he cares when he's like this, Sky," Stiles replied, confused.

"I really think it would be better for me to just wait here," Skyler protested, pushing him towards Scott's door.

"Are you okay?" Stiles looked her right in the eyes, a mixture of worried and inquisitive. "Did something happen?"

"No. I just think it would be better for Scott if it was just his best friend that he had to deal with."

"If you're sure." Stiles didn't seen quite convinced that she was alright, but he let it go and opened Scott's bedroom door. The clanging noise got even louder and she assumed that Scott was now doubling his attempts to get free from the radiator. She could hear Scott growling, not words, just a primal animal sound, and it was kind of scary.

"I brought you some water." She strained to hear Stiles' voice through the wall. She could hear the angry quiver in Stiles' otherwise calm voice. Sky wanted more than anything to be in there with him, supporting him as he faced down Scott, but she couldn't bring herself to go in there and face him.

There was silence for a second then a high pitched pouring sound, water hitting metal. Skyler could tell that he was tipping the water into the dog bowl for Scott. There was another pause then a thump which sounded like Stiles placing the bowl down in front of his handcuffed friend. She bit her lip hard, feeling the tension flooding out of the room, and she inched closer to the door. Just as she pressed her ear to the wall there was an loud smack, making her jump and bang her head off the wall.

"I'm gonna kill you!"

Sky flung herself around the corner and into Scott's room. Stiles was stood frozen facing her but his eyes were closed, and the empty dog bowl rattled on the floor at his feet. It looked like Scott had thrown it at Stiles. Skyler could even see a few drops of water dripping off the hem of Stiles' shirt. Scott was glaring at Stiles back, eyes blazing with fury. He hadn't seemed to notice that Sky was standing in the doorway yet. Stiles took a deep breath in through his nose and spun around to face Scott, his entire body was trembling with anger.

"You kissed her, Scott, okay? You kissed Lydia, that's like the one girl I ev-" Stiles broke off, glancing back at Sky for a second. "I liked her y'know. I mean, I like her. Kinda. And you know, for the past three hours I've been thinking, it's probably just the full moon, you know, he doesn't even know what he's doing, and tomorrow, he'll be totally back to normal." Stiles stopped his little rant, taking in an angry breath. "He probably won't even remember what a complete dumbass he's been. A son of a bitch, a freaking unbelievable piece of crap friend." Stiles' voice cracked at the end of the sentence, and Sky's heart contracted painfully. She wondered if Stiles would've reacted the same if he knew that Scott had kissed her.

"She kissed me," Scott whispered lowly, his voice filled with venom.

"What?" Stiles asked, hurt and confusion overtaking him.

"I didn't kiss her. She kissed me," Scott spat out, his face a mask of vicious triumph. "She would have done a lot more too! You should've seen the way she had her hands all over me!"He was shouting now, throwing the words in his friends face. "She would've done anything I wanted! Anything!"

Sky grabbed Stiles collar, yanking him backwards and away from Scott. She knew that this conversation could go nowhere good. "Ignore him Stiles, just fucking ignore him. It is not worth it to listen to him." She was having a hard time getting him to move, he was stuck fast, glaring at his friend in pure anger and some hatred. "He's just trying to get a rise out of you, don't make this easy for him."

"Speaking of easy, I'm guessing you haven't told Stiles about our little meeting in Coach's office, did you, little Sky?" Scott grinned at her and Sky could see the worrying feral glint in his eye.

"What d'you mean?" Stiles looked between Scott kneeling on the floor and practically snarling, and Skyler, pulling feverishly on his shirt and begging him with her eyes to leave the room. "One of you tell me what the hell happened."

"Lydia wasn't the only one who wanted to show me just how grateful she was for the other night," Scott drawled confidently, knowing exactly the reaction it would draw from both of them. "And I thought Lydia was easy, she's nothing compared to Skyler."

"What the fuck."

Stiles didn't sound mad, he just sounded coldly furious, which was infinitely more scary. Skyler released his collar, stepping forward until she was level with him and placing a flat palm against his chest. "Stiles, don't listen to him okay, it meant nothing. It was nothing."

"So you did actually..." Stiles trailed off in disbelief, staring at her.

"Yeah, but it wasn't like that," she insisted but Stiles shook her hand off and moved away from her, putting another foot or two of space between them.

"Did you know that she likes it rough? Bit me so hard that she cut me," Scott smirked at the memory. " I had her up on the desk, legs right around me, hands all over me. God, it was better than you could possibly imagine, Stiles. And I know that you like to imagine."

"Go to Hell," Stiles whispered, turning shakily and leaving the room.

Sky stood frozen, still watching Scott. How the hell could the full moon turn her sweet and innocent friend into this person she barely knew.

"She was begging for it! I wish you could know just how much she wanted me," Scott said, raising his voice even louder so that Stiles could still hear him. "I wish you could know just how fucking good it felt when I had my hands all over her! When I had my hands all over her tight little body!"

Scott's eyes widened in surprise at the metal bowl connected with his head. It cut off his speech and drew his eyes to Skyler. She was bouncing on her toes to stop herself from kicking Scott in the head, she had had to satisfy the urge by throwing the dog bowl at him with surprising accuracy. Fucker deserved to get hit in her opinion.

"You keep your mouth shut or I'll beat you unconscious with the goddamn bowl, you understand me?" Skyler snapped, clenching and unclenching her fists. She spun around angrily, and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Stiles was to the left of the door, back pressed against the wall and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Stiles..." Sky reached out a hand to brush the boy's shoulder but she flinched away from her.

"Why? Why him? Why did he have to be him, of all fucking people?" He was so quiet that Skyler had to strain to hear him.

"Stiles, I swear it wasn't like that," she started, trying to explain.

"No. That was not what I asked," Stiles looked up at her, pushing off the wall and taking a step towards her. "I asked. Why. Him." He was starting to scare her. His voice was still low but it had taken on a sharp, slightly dangerous tone. "There are so many people in this town, hell, even Zach would've been better than this, so why the fuck did you have to kiss my best friend?!"

"I told you that it wasn't like that!" Sky retorted, annoyance starting to flood through her. "Maybe if you listened to me, if you let me finish my fucking sentence-"

"What? So, I could hear how you just couldn't help yourself 'cause Scott's popular now, captain of the lacrosse team, he's basically the new Jackson!" Stiles was yelling at her now, pressed almost right against her. "So excuse me that I don't wanna hear that, I just wanna know how the fuck you could do this to me?!"

Sky was taken aback by the question. How could she do that to him? She didn't think he'd be this angry. Grossed out, sure. Irritated, maybe just a bit. Skyler thought he would've been much more preoccupied by the Lydia/Scott situation to bother too much about her and Scott.

"I didn't kiss him! Okay?! He fucking kissed me!" She shoved him hard, knocking him back a few steps. "You think I wanted to kiss that dickhead! No! Obviously not, but there wasn't a whole lot I could do when he had me pinned to the Coach's desk with his super fucking werewolf strength, inbetween my legs, trying to shove his tongue down my throat and putting his hands all over me! You think I wanted any of that?!"

They were both quiet, their heavy breaths the only noise in the hall besides the resumed clanging of the chains from Scott's room. Stiles' expression was frozen on his face, he still looked angry, but now she could see the hurt too, and that made her feel awful. She should've just taken Rebecca's advice and told him straightaway, to avoid this kind of situation.

"HE DID WHAT?!"

Skyler jumped as Stiles roared out the words. It was the angriest she had ever seen him. It was almost like he was fighting to keep from lashing out, tremors running through his entire body. He grabbed Sky's upper arms in a vice like grip, backing her up until she hit the wall.

"What the hell did he do to you?" Stiles demanded, pressing her into the wall. She winced as she felt a wooden picture frame dig into her back painfully.

"He kissed me Stiles, that was all," Skyler backtracked, trying to soothe him. Stiles looked ready to kick the shit out of someone but she really hoped that he didn't try anything with Scott. Handcuffed or not, the werewolf could probably still tear Stiles' throat open. "I overreacted, alright! Just calm down."

"No. Tell me, now," he snapped.

"Look, after I went to my locker I saw Lydia coming out of the Coach's office and I went up to Scott and kinda chewed him out for kissing her. Then he told me that you had something you wanted him to tell me, so we went into the office with him 'cause he told me that it was about werewolf stuff so we had to talk in private." Sky felt Stiles' fingers contract slightly on her arms and she squirmed painfully, trying not to show how much it hurt. "And I went in and sat on the desk and he closed the door and came over and kissed me. I bit him and he backed off and went to lacrosse practice, and I turned up there a minute later." She decided to skip the part where he taunted her about her crush on Stiles and the fact that she was going to the Formal with Zach.

"And that's all?" Stiles' hands were so tight around her biceps that his fingers weren't just meeting, they were overlapping. He shook her gently when she didn't reply, glaring at her. "Is that all that happened, Skyler?!"

"Yes, Jesus Christ!" Sky exclaimed, trying to pull her arms out of Stiles' grasp. "That's all that happened, I swear."

He nodded, stepping back quickly until he hit the other wall. Sky slumped backwards, unable to keep her hands steady. Stiles was staring down at the floor angrily before glancing up at Scott's closed door. He raised one leg, placing the foot flat against the wall he was leaning on. He tapped it off the wall a few times, biting his lip and debating his course of action. After a few seconds, Stiles looked at Sky and, seeing the distraught expression on her face, he knew what he had to do. He kicked off the wall, taking a step towards Scott's bedroom door.

"Wait, wait, wait," Sky called out, shuffling in front of him quickly. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm gonna kill. Or tase him. I don't know. Beat him with the dog bowl. Something." Stiles tried to move her to the side but she pressed herself against the door, reaching behind her to hold the handle steady. "Move. And I mean it."

"I'm not gonna let you do something you'll regret, or something that could get you hurt," Skyler placed a hand on his chest and backed him away from the door.

"He hurt you, okay?! Sky, he kissed you!" Stiles exploded, waving an arm in the direction of Scott's door and nearly punching her right in the face. "He kissed you and... And you're... You're-"

"What, Stiles?" She screamed back, her frustration boiling over. "What am I?"

"You're mine!"

Of everything Stiles had ever said to her, this was probably the most surprising. She was a strong, independent woman, and as such, hated the mere concept of being a man's possession, but when Stiles said that... Holy shit. That was seriously hot. The idea that she belonged to Stiles, that he felt the same claim for her that she did for him caused her mind to short circuit. She couldn't think of anything to say, anything to do. She still had her hand splayed across his chest, fingertips digging into the material of the shirt. He was hers and she was his.

"You're mine," he repeated softly, voice barely rising above a whisper.

"Stiles..."

"Scott was always my best friend, y'know, we met in the sandbox when we were like four. But ever since he got bitten, he's changed. Not in a bad way, well unless you count tonight, but it means now that he's more popular, everyone loves him, he's captain on the lacrosse team," Stiles gave a bitter laugh and Sky stepped closer to him. "Yeah, I know how jealous that makes me sound before you say anything, but I'm not. Not really anyway. But my point is that is was always just the two of us, I always had him to count on. Now, it's always Allison or Derek or werewolf bullshit, but then you turned up."

Sky held her breath, running her hand up from his chest to his shoulder and around to the back of his neck. She spread her fingers, pinky resting at the top of his spine, thumb rubbing circles at the base of his hairline.

"And you wandered into chemistry late and you already knew my name and you were wearing the Batman bracelet, then you came over to me at practice and you told me that I was going to bring you to Lydia's party, and I didn't have a choice in the matter. And you just got me. You get me, Sky." Stiles took a shuddering breath before continuing on with his little speech. "You were there for me when Scott wasn't, when he ditched me for his new girlfriend, you were still there. You had my back. And I can talk to you about anything, 'cause these days I feel like I don't have anyone I can talk to, and I have to lie to my dad, the only family I have left." One of his hands reached out and cupped her face, his voice shaky and she could hear it was on the verge of breaking. "But I go to see you and it's like everything's better. And then Scott kisses you. You, Skyler. The one person I had, the one, that didn't think I was second best to him, and he kissed because he knew that. He knew that you were mine. You are mine."

Skyler pulled him forward, pushing herself onto her tiptoes. The hand that had been on the back on his neck snaked around until her arm was wrapped right around him, her other arm went around his waist and her hand fisted in the fabric of his t-shirt just over the small of his back. Stiles didn't even hesitate for a second before sliding an arm around her waist, knotting the other in her hair and pulling her as close to him as he could manage, tucking her head under his chin.

"You're mine," she whispered, lips brushing off the hollow of his throat. It wasn't like what had happened in the locker. That was more intimate and full of lust, this was pure emotion. Stiles had just bared his soul to her and Sky felt like she was going to cry. "You're mine, too."

Stiles twisted her fingers through her wavy strands of hair, drawing her in until she could barely breathe. All she could smell and taste was Stiles, the warmth of his skin, the aftershave and the delicious cinnamon smell that was so unique to him. Who the fuck was she kidding? Zach was a friend, with the potential to become a very close one, but she had absolutely no romantic feelings for him whatsoever. He was not going to help her get over Stiles, nothing was. Stiles was not a childish crush or a fleeting infatuation.

In that moment, Sky realised that she might even love Stiles. And that scared the living shit outta her.

Skyler pulled back, putting some space inbetween them, her nerve endings still singing. She left her hands wrapped lightly around his neck, pads of her fingers brushing the soft skin. She couldn't look Stiles in the eye, so instead she squeezed his neck gently before moving back until she was standing against Soctt's door, then slid down until she was sitting on the floor, legs drawn up to her chest. A few moments later, Stiles mirrored her position, sitting against the other wall. Sky fiddled with one of the feathers on her necklace, twisting it around. He smiled at her, watching her fingers move. They both relaxed against the wall, neither of them sure what to talk about, so they opted to sit comfortably without speaking.

"So," she started after nearly an hour of silence, apart from the irritatingly loud handcuff noise. "Would you rather make out with Mr Harris or Coach Finstock?"

"Ugh! What the hell is the matter with you?" Stiles exclaimed, disgust plastered across his face.

"Just making conversation, Stilinski!"

"Well, it's gross conversation," he replied, staring at her like there was something seriously wrong with her. "Jesus, Gray."

"I'd pick Coach," Sky commented airily, internally smirking at Stiles' expression.

"Could you not, please? Could you just not?" Stiles groaned, screwing up his face and gagging.

"Oh, come on! He's much better than Harris," Sky was laughing at Stiles now. The expression on his face absolutely priceless. "Like you wouldn't want a piece of that lacrosse coaching ass."

"You disgust me. I mean, you are the most disgusting person that I have ever encountered," Stiles waved his hands at her wildly, like he was trying to wipe away the memory of what she had just said. He stopped for a second before sighing in defeat and rolling his eyes. "But yeah, if it came down to it, life-or-death, it would be Coach over Harris."

"I knew it!" Sky whooped in triumph and punched the air. "I knew you had a thing for Coach! Stiles and Finstock sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G-"

"Shut up, Sky!"

Skyler laughed again and was about to resume her song when a pained howl ripped through the house. Sky fell silent and Stiles ducked his head, pressing his forehead to his knees. It was quiet for another long moment before a pitiful moan sounded from Scott's room. Stiles wrapped his arms around his legs, sucking in a short breath.

"Stiles, it's for his own good," Skyler whispered, crawling across the hall on her hands and knees, settling down next to Stiles. She reached out, prying one of his hands away from his leg and wrapping her fingers around it. "He hurt himself, he'd hurt other people if he wasn't handcuffed to the goddamn radiator, okay?"

Stiles let out a small pained sigh as Scott screeched again. Sky couldn't imagine having to be Stiles' position, having to sit and listen to her best friend screaming in pain. She released his hand and wrapped the arm around his shoulders instead, pulling his body close. Stiles pressed his head on to her shoulder and tried to block his ears.

"Stiles, please let me out. It's the full moon, I swear. You know I wouldn't do any of this on purpose! Please Stiles, let me out!" Scott's voice was getting higher and higher, and a pitiful note crept into it. Stiles nuzzled his head even harder against his shoulder. Sky could feel the pain radiating from him and slipped her free arm around him, hugging him close to her. "It's starting to hurt. It's not like the first time. It's the full moon. It's Allison breaking up with me. I know that it's not just taking a break. She broke up with me, and it's killing me. I feel completely hopeless." Scott paused and Stiles took a shuddering breath. "Just, please, let me out."

"I can't," Stiles whispered, more to himself than anyone else.

Sky raised a hand, stroking the back of his head and whispering to him soothingly. "It's gonna be fine, you did what you had to do, you're fine, he'll be fine." Scott went back to screaming at the top of his voice and pulling on the handcuffs. "It's gonna be alright." Skyler raised her voice to try and cover Scott's shrieks but he was still too loud to drown out. Stiles let out a small whimpering sound and buried his head into Sky's lap. She rubbed up and down his back, wanting to kick the shit out of Scott for the what he had done that day, kissing her, kissing Lydia, kissing Danny, and especially what he was doing to Stiles right now.

There was the loudest rattling tug yet, a roar and silence. Stiles raised his head from her lap, watching Scott' door intently and waiting for the noise to resume. He pushed away from Sky and came up into a crouch, eyes narrowing nervously.

"Scott, are you okay?" He called out and placed a hand on Skyler's knee, keeping her back against the wall. "Scott?"

"Oh, fuuuuck," Sky groaned, shoving Stiles hand off and clambering to her feet. When she looked over her shoulder Stiles was still crouched on the floor. "Come on, I am not going in there on my own." He stood up slowly, straightening his spine and glaring at the door as if had offended him somehow. He took a step forward, then another and another until he was at Scott's door. Sky knew what was coming before he even pushed it open.

"He's gone."

Sky darted into the room after him, and saw that he was already kneeling by the radiator. The handcuffs were still clamped around the oil pipe, but now there was blood smeared across them. And the window was open.

"We need to find him. Now." Sky insisted, watching Stiles from the bedroom door. His hand was still shaking violently.

"I know." He made his way over to her, picking up speed and grabbing her hand as he passed, pulling her after him. By the time they reached the front door, they were practically sprinting out of the house. Neither of them even thought to close the door to Scott's house behind them. Stiles had locked the Jeep when he had arrived at Scott's earlier and it took him nearly half a minute to unlock it again, unable to keep his hands steady. She had to remind herself not to snap at him, and to remember that he was under just as much pressure as she was to find Scott.

She calmed down once they were in the car and she had something she could drum her fingers against. It gave her something to focus on, and it helped to keep her mind off of the mental image of Scott tearing a screaming woman's throat. Stiles was sitting rigidly in the driver's seat, hands gripping the wheel so hard it hurt. His dad was out there somewhere on a full moon night, with a raging Alpha and a rabid Scott running amok. They drove around Beacon Hills for almost an hour, checking back roads and the Preserve, even circling around to the school. He wasn't any of those places and they were beginning to get frustrated.

"Okay, so where would he go besides his house?" Skyler picked at one of the loose threads at the top of her sock.

"Uh, Derek said that he's gonna look for a pack, yeah? So, wherever the Alpha is," Stiles suggested, eyes flickering between Sky and the road. "But we have absolutely no idea where the Alpha is, and even if we did, it wouldn't be a good idea to go there."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. What about the Hale house? Even if Derek's, uh, not there anymore maybe Scott is still drawn to it," Sky replied, hand moving to fiddle with her necklace again, trying to keep herself busy while they sped through the streets of Beacon Hills. "Where did he go on the last full moon?"

Stiles paused, trying to organise his thoughts, reaching back to the night of Lydia's party. He closed his eyes for a second, before groaning and smacking one hand down on the wheel. "He went after Allison."

"Fuck balls." Sky's hand dove into her pocket, fingers sliding around her phone. She unlocked it as quickly as possible, holding down the three button to speed dial Allison. She pressed it up to her ear, leg starting to jog up and down with impatience. "Pick up. Goddamn. Pick up, pick up, pick up."

"Hi, this Allison. I can't come to the phone right now-"

"Pick up!" She shrieked, hanging up and trying again. Answer machine that time too. And the third and the fourth. "I can't get through to her, Stiles," her voice trembled and she had to keep from punching the dashboard. Scott may love Allison but according to Derek, the full moon removed any sense of being from newly turned werewolves. If he found her tonight, Skyler was sure that he was perfectly capable of killing her. Instead of trying Allison again, she held down the five button and nearly screamed when it went to voicemail. "Why can't anyone pick up their fucking phones?!" Sky roared. She saw Stiles jump out of the corner of her eye as she let out her frustration.

"It's gonna be alright, we're gonna find him, Sky," Stiles soothed. He took a hand off the wheel and placed it on her thigh, squeezing it. It did feel calming to have his long, slim fingers splayed across her bare skin. He stroked her leg slowly, thumb rubbing circles on her skin. His finger slid up gently, reaching just under the hem of her dress. She reached down and rested her hand over his, running her fingers over his knuckles. He laughed breathily and turned his hand so it was palm up, lacing their fingers together.

"If he kills someone, Stiles..."

"It's not going to happen. I promise." Stiles had never broken a promise to her before, and Sky didn't see any reason that he would start breaking them now. "So, Derek's first, and then Allison's?"

"Sounds good," Sky tapped her index finger against the window, peering out into the dark. "Take this left. It's a shortcut."

Stiles spun the wheel with one hand, still holding onto Sky with the other. The Jeep skidded around the bend, the two wheels on the right even leaving the ground for an instant. Skyler was blinded for a second by the array of flashing lights about fifty feet up the road. Oh, fuck. They were police lights. There were several police cars parked across the road, surrounding an ambulance. Sky's gaze fell on the Sheriff's empty patrol car within milliseconds of Stiles'. His hand constricted, the tops of his fingers digging fiercely into the space between her knuckles.

"Ah! Shit. Stiles," Sky called. He was going to leave bruises if he didn't loosen his grip soon, but he was concentrating on the police cars, eyes searching the road desperately for his dad. "Stiles, please let go, you're hurting me. Ow. Stiles, please!"

He slammed on the brakes, jerking her forwards until she nearly headbutted the dashboard, stopping within a foot or two of one of the closest patrol cars. He looked down distractedly, gaze sliding over their joined hands. He tore his away like he had been burned when he saw the little red marks that his nails had made, half moon scratches along the joints.

"Sky, I am so-"

"It's fine, really," Sky told Stiles, trying to push him out the door of the Jeep. "Let's find your dad, he's gotta be around here somewhere."

Stiles didn't even look back, and just threw himself out of the car, narrowly missing a tired looking Deputy. Skyler followed suit, albeit not as hurriedly. She scurried after Stiles as he wove through the crowd of policemen. "Dad?!" He screamed out frantically. "Dad?!" He shoved past another cop, pausing just long enough to let Sky catch hold of the hem of his shirt, pressing herself to his back. "Has anyone seen my-" Stiles broke off, gaze falling on the outline of a dead body laid out under a sheet on the ambulance trolley.

"Oh, fuck. Oh, no," she breathed out. It jolted slightly as Stiles stumbled into it, hip banging painfully against the metal frame and a hand slipped out from underneath the white cotton. The sight of the burned and blackened hand made Skyler gag. It was blistered to the point where the skin was peeling off, flaky black flecks of flesh dropping away from the fingers. She wrapped one arm around Stiles' waist, letting her hand splay across his stomach. That couldn't be the Sheriff, she didn't even want to contemplate what would happen if Stiles' father died.

"Has anyone seen my dad?" Stiles yelled again, voice breaking with the raw emotion pouring out of him.

"Stiles!" The boy in question jumped, twisting to the left. The Sheriff was striding over to them, pushing through the officers that were milling around the two teens. "What are you doing here?" Stiles ripped himself away from Skyler and threw himself at his father. He wrapped his arms around his dad, burying his face in the Sheriff's shoulder and closing his eyes. The Sheriff sent Sky a questioning look over his son's head as, hugging his son hard in return, and she glanced away, not wanting him to see tears that had started to build up in her eyes. Sky sidled over to them as Stiles pulled back, still gripping his dad's shoulders.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" The Sheriff asked again, eyes flickering between both of them sternly.

Stiles floundered, mouth opening and closing as he searched for an answer.

"We were studying at Scott's and Stiles was just bringing me home," Skyler answered, hoping that it was believable.

"Your house is on the other side of the town," Stiles' dad reminded her skeptically, raising an eyebrow at the pair. "If you wanted to go home, you'd be going the complete wrong way, Skyler."

"We were just, uh, going for a late night drive," Stiles chipped in. It sounded more like a question than an answer and Sky inwardly groaned at his awkwardness and inability to bullshit his way out of a situation.

"Were you two...? Are you two..." The Sheriff tried trailed off, making a few random hand movements that mostly consisted of waving.

"Are we what?" Sky asked apprehensively, not liking the look on the Sheriff's face.

"Just, if you guys are really going to, then, you know, use protection."

Skyler flushed darkly and Stiles started to seemingly choke on air next to her. It was the second time that night that someone had alluded to her having sex with Stiles, and it was getting weird. She started shaking her head vigorously, making little sounds that she hoped came across as noises of denial. Stiles gave a final wracking cough before shaking his head and throwing his arms wide, nearly backhanding Skyler across the face.

"Noooo. We were definitely not... No." He waved his hands at his father, laughing nervously. "I mean, not that I wouldn't, Sky's a very nice girl. I mean I don't want to! But I don't NOT want to either. Oh, God. Well, we might one day, but not today. No, that came out wrong! Jesus, I-"

"Shut up. Please, just stop goddamn talking," Skyler mumbled into her hands, trying to avoid eye contact with either of the men. Stiles gave one more nervous laugh and rocked on the balls of his feet.

"Right," The Sheriff started after a few seconds of incredibly awkward silence. "You two are going to get in the car and Stiles, you're going to drive Skyler straight home. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Sky shuffled, turning back to the Jeep. "Good night, Sheriff."

"Night, Skyler," he called after her before turning back to his son with a stern expression. "You take that girl straight home, d'you hear me?"

"Got it, dad," Stiles muttered, then added, "Just be careful tonight."

"I'm always careful, kid."

"Extra careful." Stiles gave his father another quick hug and jogged over to the Jeep, climbing back into the still open driver's door. Sky was already sitting in the passenger's seat, leg bouncing up and down rapidly.

The first few minutes of the car journey was silent, both of them knew instinctively where they were going next. Allison's house. After Derek's, which was inaccessible due to the ridiculous amount of cops in the area, Allison's was the most likely location. Stiles drummed his fingers quicker and quicker against the steering wheel until Skyler slapped his hand. He jumped, looking over at her in indignation.

"Cut that out, it's putting me on edge."

"Sorry." He glanced at her, then back to the road, then back at her again. He let out a breathy laugh through his nose and smiled weakly. "Pretty funny, huh, how my dad thought that we were...doing stuff."

"Pretty strange alright, 'cause Becca said the exact same thing to me before I left earlier. She thought that was what we were getting up to tonight," Sky replied nonchalantly, trying to play it down.

"Oh! Hah, maybe now we should... Well, you know, everyone else seems to think it's a good idea," Stiles laughed, but the sound was high-pitched and strangled.

"Great idea," Sky joked, forcing herself to keep a straight face, even though the mental image of steamy car sex with Stiles was doing very bad things to her lower region. "Why don't you just pull over now? I'll have my panties off in seconds."

"A-a-are you s-serious?" Stiles stuttered. He swallowed deeply and his breathing became shallow.

"Obviously not, dumbass," Sky smirked at his flustered countenance. "We have to find Scott."

"Yeah, of course. Stupid me," he snorted nervously. It fell silent again, both still mulling over the possibility of not being able to find Scott, or finding him and he had hurt someone.

Sky was getting antsy in the quiet, and felt like if she didn't find something to take her mind off of the thoughts racing through her head, she was going to go insane. She was just reaching for the for the on/off button of the radio when Stiles' phone started buzzing angrily. He took his right hand off the wheel, stuffing it into his pocket and searching for the device. Stiles glanced down at the screen, and the Jeep veered wildly left and Skyler had to grip the seat to stop herself being thrown into the door.

"Jesus Christ, Stilinski," Skyler snapped, fingers digging into the cushion. "Drive much?"

"It's Scott," he murmured, sliding his finger across the phone and holding it to his ear. "Where the hell are you man?" He was quiet for a second, then his eyes widened in surprise. He made a few noncommittal noises and nodded his head. "He's alright then?" Skyler watched him in suspense, studying his expressions and waiting for the news of what had happened. After a few moments Stiles' body sagged in relief and he blew out a long breath. "Alright. Tell him we're fine, and I'm just bringing Skyler home." He ended the call and threw the phone into the door well.

"What did Scott want?" She pressed as Stiles slowed the car down, making a sharp U-turn in the middle of the road. "He's alright, isn't he?"

"It wasn't Scott," Stiles accelerated back down the road they had just driven down, taking the first road on the right so they could bypass the cops. "It was Derek."

"Holy shit. Derek's okay? He's not dead," Sky bounced up and down, grinning wildly. "And he's with Scott, are they okay? Did anyone die?"

"As far as I can tell, they're both perfectly fine. No one died, and Derek's gonna keep an eye on Scott for the rest of the night." All the tension had left their bodies and they both felt so much more relaxed now, slumping back into their seats. "So, I'll bring you home now."

"Straight home?" She asked, tucking her knees up under her chin. "I'm still hungry. Is Wendy's open?"

"Wendy's closes at midnight on Mondays, Sky," Stiles told her, smiling widely.

"What time is it now?"

"Nearly half one." Stiles pointed to the red numbers on the clock, which did in fact read 1:28.

"Oh, balls," Sky exclaimed, checking her phone. There were several text messages from Rebecca, wondering where she was. "I told Becca I'd be back at twelve!"

"You could always stay at mine tonight if you want to," Stiles suggested. "We're closer to my house anyway."

"Are you sure that that'll be okay with your dad?" Skyler asked. She didn't want to intrude on the Sheriff's good hospitality.

"It's fine, my dad thinks you're a good influence on me anyway," he smirked at her and turned a corner, pulling up in front of his house. "And I can bring you by yours in the morning for clothes and stuff."

"Sounds good." Sounded brilliant in fact. Now that the adrenaline from the Scott chasing had ebbed away, Skyler was realising just how exhausted she was. She texted Becca quickly, letting her know that the study session had run long and she was going to stay at Stiles that night. The woman replied within seconds, telling her that it was fine and to use protection. Stiles hopped out of his side, jogging around to open the passenger door of the Jeep. He took her hand and helped her down. They dragged themselves up to the door in silence, Skyler yawning as she waited for Stiles to unlock the front door. Once they were inside and he had gestured for her to go upstairs, it suddenly hit her that she was going to have to share a bed with him.

Well, that was awkward. At least his bed was a double, she could curl up on one side and hopefully avoid touching him at all. Skyler threw herself down on the bed when she entered the room, toeing off her loose boots and lying on her back. Stiles moved to the chest of drawers, pulling one of them open and rifling through.

"Uh, here," Stiles turned back to her, holding out a baggy blue t-shirt. "To sleep in. You can get changed in the bathroom if you want."

"Thanks, Stilinski," Sky stood up, plucking the shirt out of his hand and shuffling across to the bathroom. She let the door fall closed with a soft click before pulling the Gryffindor sweater off over her head and reaching behind her to unzip the denim dress, letting it pool around her feet. The cold water splashed all over her hands and Skyler rinsed her face quickly, shivering as a few drops rand down her neck and over her chest. She removed her bra and dropped it next to her dress, but decided that it was best to keep her underwear on. The top felt soft and warm against her skin, and she loved wearing Stiles' clothes. Loved the homely feeling it gave her. She gathered up her clothes and exited the bathroom, looking up just as Stiles pulled his shirt off.

His chest was and stomach were smooth, but that wasn't to say that they weren't defined. She could see the sharp planes of his abdominal muscles above two very obvious 'fuck me' lines, and a small happy trail leading into the waistband of his pyjama pants. His skin was ivory, with several moles dotted around his torso and his arms were thick with lacrosse muscles. Skyler's mouth dropped open. That was not what she had expected from her friend.

"Woah, hey! Sorry, I'm just gonna, uh, get dressed," Stiles flailed wildly, hauling a t-shirt out of the drawer and coming close to knocking down everything that he had sitting on top of them.

"No, that was my fault, I should've knocked when I left the bathroom," Sky squeaked, screwing her face up and burying it in her clothes.

"You can open again," he muttered shyly. He was blushing a very dark red. "Sorry, that you had to see that."

"It's okay," she grinned at him, trying to hide just how fast her heart was racing. "I quite enjoyed it." Sky lowered the clothes away from her face, dropping them on the floor at the end of the bed and perching on the edge. "So, which side of the bed is yours?" The sentence was punctuated with a yawn. Sky crossed one leg over the other, peeling her socks off one after the other. She looked up at Stiles and saw that his focus was not on her face or her words, but instead, he was watching her hands as she ran them down her bare legs. She snorted in amusement before repeating the question, managing to capture Stiles' attention this time.

"I'll just take the outside. Or you can have it, if you want, I don't mind, it's all the same to-"

"Inside is my side then," Skyler laughed at his babbling as he ran his hand over his hair. She pushed herself back up on the bed, trying to stop the shirt from riding up. Once she reached the top of the comforter, she wriggled under the quilt, lying on her back. Stiles pushed the bedroom door closed and flicked off the light switch. Sky felt the bed dip as Stiles sat on the edge, and then heard him take a deep breath before lying down next to her.

Sky's left arm lay outside the blanket, reaching down by her side. There was a little tap on the back of her hand, and Stiles took hold of it, lacing their fingers together. His palm felt slightly clammy and his hand was shaking, but she didn't care. He shuffled closer until their arms were pressed flush against each other. Sky's eyelids were drooping shut, and she could feel her entire body shutting down as she fell fast asleep. The last thing she heard was Stiles' voice, barely louder than a whisper.

"Night, Skyler."

"Night, Stiles."


	18. Everyone Looks Great in Assless Chaps

_**AN: This chapter was an absolute bitch to write. I have been so busy with school and everything that I barely had anytime to work on this and most of it was written during a two hour bus journey the other day, so I apologise for any mistakes.**_

 _ **I'm getting pretty close to the end of 'Welcome to Beacon Hills', there is only about four or five chapters left, and I was wondering if you guys wanted a sequel? I'm not quite sure whether to leave it at the end of Season 1 or keep going, so please let me know what you'd like, of you guys could tell me if you'd want a sequel or not.**_

 _ **And finally, as usual, thank you for all the reviews, follows and favourites. I got one review from a guest last chapter and it was so sweet it nearly made me cry. Love all you guys and I hope you enjoy the chapter! X**_

"Alright Tweedledum and Tweedledee?"

Skyler dropped into a seat next to Stiles. He glanced up at her, smiling awkwardly. Neither of them were completely sure how to act around each other after what had happened three days ago.

Sky had woken up to a ridiculously loud alarm clock. She groaned and buried her face in the pillow, which was surprisingly firm and and warm. And it moved. She raised her head from where it rested, pushing herself up on one hand. Stiles was lying on his back, eyes still closed, resting his head under one arm, the other slung loosely around her waist. Skyler, in turn, was draped across his chest. Her head had rested just above his heart, one arm gripping his shoulder and one of her legs hooked over his waist. She felt absolutely mortified when she realised that she could feel something hard pressing into her thigh, presumably Stiles' morning wood. She tried to pull away but Stiles groaned at the loss off contact and wrapped his arm around her waist tighter, pulling her flush against him.

"Stiles, wake up," Skyler shook his shoulder and flicked his ear, trying to push him off. "Wake up, asshat!" She sighed and stretched out an arm, plucking his alarm clock off the bedside table and shoving it against his ear.

"Jesus! Ahh! Shit!" He sat up straight, shoving her away from him and flailing so hard that he fell right off his bed.

"Morning, Stilinski," she threw out in her best nonchalant voice, sitting up and wrapping the comforter around herself.

"It's morning?" Stiles mumbled, rubbing his eyes grumpily.

"Mmmm," Sky couldn't help herself from glancing down at his crotch, unsure whether or not to bring up the pants situation, but unluckily, he saw her eyes flicker downwards and followed her gaze. His eyes widened in horror as he caught sight of the little tent in his pants. Letting out a squeak, he covered himself with hands and looked up at Sky, terrified. She ducked her head, trying to avoid making eye contact as he scrambled to his feet, throwing out hurried excuses and rushing to the bathroom.

Sky groaned, burying her face in the blanket and breathing in deeply. Lowering herself onto her back she ran over what she was going to say to Stiles when he reentered the room. Sky snuggled back down into the warmth, pulling the comforter up and over her head. She could hear the shower start to run and just as she decided that now would be a good time to get dressed and run away, the door opened.

"Stiles, it's time to get up. You have school in..." The voice trailed off, leaving the room in silence for a few seconds before starting up again, much more hesitantly. "Stiles? Is that a dress on your floor? Is there something you need to tell me, son? You know I'll love you no matter what, and I can't lie, I've had my suspicions before, but-"

Unable to listen to anymore of the Sheriff's ramblings any longer, Skyler poked her head up above the blanket and smiled sheepishly. "Hey, Sheriff. Morning." He looked at her in surprise and back to the pile of her clothes on the floor, then back up to her again. It suddenly occurred to her that she was wearing nothing but Stiles' shirt and her panties and it looked seriously bad. "Jesus, fuck!" She exclaimed, wriggling up onto her knees but keeping the blanket around her. "It is so not what it looks like! I swear to God!"

"I thought I told Stiles to take you straight home?" The Sheriff sighed, averting his eyes.

"He was going to, it was just that it was really, really late and we were closer to here than to my house, so Stiles asked if I wanted to stay," Skyler explained, waving at the bathroom door. "He said he didn't think you'd mind, and he was just being polite. I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's perfectly fine," he insisted, suddenly extremely interested in his mug of coffee. He cleared his throat, and she knew he was about to say something that would make them both very uncomfortable. "Were you two safe?"

"We really, really didn't have sex!" She practically shouted then covered her mouth, wishing that she could take back what she had let slip.

"Right." Stiles' dad nodded, rocking back and forth on his heels. "Well I'm heading out in about five minutes, I can bring you home and you can get ready for school."

"Thanks, Sheriff."

He backed out of the room and pulled the door behind him, still not looking at her. Sky threw the comforter off her and pushed up off the bed. Laying her clothes out on the bed and pulling Stiles shirt over her head, dropping it back onto the mattress. She dressed quickly, but decided to leave her sweater off. The day had been too nice for warm clothing. She considered knocking on the bathroom door to let Stiles know that she was leaving but decided that it would be better to talk to him face to face rather than through a door.

She hopped down the stairs, meeting the Sheriff in the kitchen. He was draining the end of the coffee and plucking his car keys from the hook on the wall. She smiled nervously at him, hoping that he wouldn't bring up the sleeping situation between her and his son. He led her out to the car after quickly leaving a scribbled note to let Stiles know where they had gone.

Meeting Stiles at school later that day had been the most uncomfortable encounter of her entire life. Neither of them brought up the fact that they had slept in the same bed, cuddled up together, or that Stiles' little friend was up and about when they had woken up. They had just simply gone about their day, unsure of exactly what to say to each other.

That was the day before, now she was sitting next to him and he was subtly covering himself under the table. She nodded at Scott, and expected him to immediately launch into a volley of questions about how her day was, was she enjoying her lunch, whether or not she was enjoying her classes. He had been trying to compensate for what he had done when he was under the influence of the full moon. She had forgiven him easily enough, Skyler knew that he never meant to hurt anyone, but he was still killing with kindness. Truth be told, it was getting annoying. But today he sat in brooding silence, glancing over his shoulder every seconds at the table Allison, Jackson and several of their friends were sitting at.

"What's up with you, McCall?" Sky asked when she couldn't take the irritating silence anymore. "You look all grumpy and shit."

"Remember the night before last when the Alpha went after Harris and Derek chased him down?" Scott replied, barely looking at her. "And Harris had that drawing? The wolfy one."

"Yeah, I remember. I wasn't invited on your little boys' night." Skyler sniffed and drew herself up, still annoyed that she had been left out of their escapade. Derek hadn't even been to see her since he returned from the dead, or bothered returning her phone calls. "What about it?"

"We worked out what it was this morning," Stiles filled her in quickly. "We figured out that it's the same design as the one on Allison's necklace, so Scott was gonna ask her for it and tried to butter her up for the favour by sending her loads of pictures of them together."

"I imagine that went over well."

"You could only imagine," Stiles retorted dryly. "So now we have to steal it. Also, we can't get to Harris 'cause he's under protective detail. And, oh, by the way, Jackson apparently knows that Scott's a werewolf."

"Fuck!" It came out louder than Skyler expected and she had to clap a hand over her mouth. "How in the fuck did he find that out?!"

"We don't actually know," Stiles admitted, playing with his food.

"Well, balls," Sky sat back, taking a bite of her apple. "What are we gonna do about that? Can we kill him, 'cause I'd be down for killing him, if I'm perfectly honest."

"Guys." Scott had tensed in his seat, hackles practically raised as he looked between the two of them. "He's watching us." His eyes flickered to the left and Skyler could tell that he was fighting the urge to look over his shoulder at Jackson.

"What's wrong?" Stiles hissed as Scot clenched his teeth and nearly growled.

"Jackson's talking to me. He knows I can hear him!" Stiles and Sky both peeked over Stiles' head to see Jackson still sitting at his table, smirking over at them. "Look at me, just talk to me. Act normal. Pretend that nothing's happening."

"Something is happening, and we have to find a way to fix it! Now!" Sky waved her arms wildly, gesturing between the three of them and in the general direction of Jackson. There was a pause in which the three of them stared at each other, each waiting for the other two to conjure up a plan to resolve the Jackson Situation.

Say something! Talk to me!" Scott implored when her saw that neither of them had any genius ideas.

"I can't think of anything! My mind's a complete blank!" Stiles protested.

"Your mind's a blank?! You can't think of anything to say?" Scott huffed, staring at his best friend in disbelief.

"Well this is new, Stiles Stilinski can't think of something to say!" Sky drawled sarcastically, rolling her eyes. It had to now, right now, that Stiles couldn't think of anything to say. "And at the most inappropriate time possible."

"Not under this kind of pressure!" Stiles exclaimed, glaring at both of them. "FYI, he's not even sitting with them anymore." Scott swiveled around in his seat, eyes searching the room for Jackson.

"Scott. Scott, turn the fuck around. Do not give that asshole the satisfaction of letting him see you worked up," Sky lunged across the table, grabbing the back of Scott's collar and hauling him back around to face them again. "Just pretend that you can't hear him. Think about Allison. Think about her naked." Both boys stared at her in a mixture of shock and amusement. Scott straightened up, jaw feathering.

"Yes," he hissed quietly.

Sky and Stiles glanced at each other, Sky biting her lip and Stiles' leg bouncing wildly. They both scanned the the cafeteria, trying find Jackson amongst the hundreds of people milling around the room. Scott's hands gripped his lunch tray, fingers digging into the sides, nails beginning to elongate.

"Scott, come on, you can't let him do this," Stiles soothed, leaning forward and staring intently at his friend. "You can't let him have this kind of power over you. Okay?" Scott's was gripping the edges of the tray so hard that it was beginning to bend upwards in the middle, cutlery rattling on the plastic. Stiles reached over to tug the tray away from him, but a second before he placed his hand on the tray, Scott snapped it clean in half, springing to his feet and holding both halves of the tray down by his side. The entire cafeteria had fallen quiet and was staring at Scott. Skyler's eyes flickered over to the vending machine by the cafeteria door. Jackson was leaned against it smirking at the three of them, wearing his most infuriating smug and superior facial expression.

Jackson turned, still watching their table, and strolled out of the room. Sky was sure that he was laughing quietly to himself. What a prick.

"Sit down, Scott!" Stiles hissed, kicking his friend's leg under the table.

Scott fell back into his seat, letting the tray drop onto the table with a clatter. He was clenching and unclenching his fists, trying not to punch someone or go after Jackson and beat the living shit out of him. Skyler could see tiny droplets of blood pooling on the table underneath his hands. He was so angry that his nails were cutting into the skin.

"So... What was he saying?" Stiles piped up after a few seconds of Scott glaring at the fractured pieces of plastic. Scott growled and pushed himself away from the table, standing up and stalking out of the room, pausing to try and stuff the tray into the bin.

"Seriously, Stiles?"

"What?" He responded, his voice innocent, eyes wide and questioning as he looked at her.

"It was obviously nothing good, dumbass!" Sky rolled her eyes at his obliviousness. "Jackson evidently has no problem hitting on Allison to piss Scott off. No doubt he brought her up somehow, and he's probably still hurting over the breakup. Scott had a very effeminate brain." Stiles snorted, nearly inhaling a curly fry up his nose as he laughed at what she had said. "It's not a bad thing, it just means that he's more caring, compassionate and tolerable than most other men."

"I'm caring, compassionate and tolerable!" Stiles protested, food spilling out of her mouth.

"You're a smelly, childish little horndog of a man, Stiles Stilisnki," Skyler narrowed her eyes at him playfully. "All you think about is avoiding showers, and eating food and getting your rocks off." All of that was a total lie, Stiles was a great guy, but it was amusing to see the indignation on his face.

"I'm a fine specimen of a man, Gray. You're lucky to have me," he threw a fry at her and she caught it in her mouth, cheering loudly. He laughed at her and swallowed what was in his mouth. His face grew slightly more serious as he looked back up, cheeks flushing red.

"Look, about the other morning... I'm really sorry," Stiles started, chewing on his bottom lip and running a hand over his short hair. Hot damn, he was adorable.

"Stiles, it's okay. I know that guys get, you know, a bit excited sometimes when they're asleep. It's not important," Sky insisted. She didn't want to discuss this again, it would just bring her mind back to how he looked standing in his room, shirtless, or how he looked sprawled on his bedroom floor, his obvious arousal creating a large bulge in his pants. And it was large. "So, what were you dreaming about that made you so excited?"

Stiles choked on his water, raising his eyebrows and squeaking. "Jesus Christ, Sky! Why would- That's not a question that- What the hell!?"

"I was just curious," she replied defensively, voice raising. "Was that a weird question?"

"Yes!"

"Alright, sorry." She bit her lip, knowing that she shouldn't ask the question that had wriggled it's way to the forefront of her mind. It was only going to cause her pain, but she supposed that she was just a glutton for punishment. She screwed the cap off her smoothie and looked up at him through her lashes. "Was it about Lydia?"

"No, it really wasn't." Sky's heart jumped at the sincerity of Stiles's tone. "Could we please talk about anything else? Please?"

"D'you wanna know about my sex dreams?"

"Oh for fuck's sake!"

Sky decided to go straight home after school. She had two essays to finish for the next day, an art project to complete and some seriously complicated maths shit to deal with. She walked out of the school, head down, texting Rebecca to let her know that she was going to be home sooner than expected. When she reached the Impala Sky was surprised to see Lydia leaning against the hood. She had assumed that her friend was going to stay for lacrosse training, especially as there was a big game that night.

"Need a ride home?" She asked without any preamble.

"If you would be so kind," Lydia chirped, sliding into the passenger seat as Skyler unlocked the car.

Sky twisted the keys in the engine and let the engine rumble pleasantly along as she pulled out of the parking lot. The route to Lydia's house from the school was just as ingrained in her mind as the route to her's and she turned onto the road that lead to her street.

"I thought Jackson was going to bring you home after practice," Sky commented absentmindedly, spinning the wheel to the right. "Didn't he bring you to school this morning?"

"Yes, but I dumped him today."

Lydia's voice was so breezy, high-pitched and rushed, that Sky wasn't sure she heard correctly and had to ask her friend to repeat what she had just said. She was right, Lydia had broken up with her boyfriend. Her absolutely perfect, well perfect for Lydia, admittedly hot, popular, jock boyfriend. But Lydia was in love with him. It didn't make any sense.

"No, no, no. I don't get this, why would you break up with Jackson?" Sky could feel a migraine starting behind her eyes.

"I outgrew him," Lydia explained, but Skyler could heat the waver in her friend's voice.

"Bullshit, don't lie to me, Lyds." Sky pulled into the Martin's driveway and turned off the car, shifting in her seat to face her friend. "Why did you break up with him?" There was a pause in which they both stared at each other, Lydia not quite meeting Skyler's eyes and Sky glaring intently at Lydia. "It's me. Lydia. I'm your best friend, what's so bad that you couldn't tell me?"

"He broke up with me, I didn't break up with him," Lydia whispered, letting her gaze drop to her hands that were clasped in her lap. "He said I was dead weight in his life."

"He did fucking what?!" Skyler slammed the palm of her hand against the steering wheel, setting off the horn. She was going to flay the fucker alive! She was going to cut off his hands and make him eat them! She was going to slowly and painfully scoop that asshole's throat out with a motherfucking melon baller!

"It's not a big deal, Sky, honestly," Lydia rolled her eyes and flipped her hair. Her moment of weakness was gone, covered over with a new layer of lip gloss and and a sultry pout. "Being single suits me so much more."

"Lydia, you know that you can talk to me about this, about-"

"Anything. Yes, yes, I know," Lydia sighed and rolled her eyes, pushing the car door open and turning so that she faced out. "But it's not necessary."

"Yeah, it is. So, girl's night tomorrow night?" Sky used her best no-nonsense business tone, she knew that the voice meant nothing to Lydia, it could be used to intimidate lesser beings, but Sky had a feeling that there was nothing on Earth that could truly intimidate Lydia Martin. The girl in question smiled pityingly at Sky and patted her arm condescendingly.

"Alright, sweetie and then we can talk about whatever you feel like we need to talk about." She gave her one last short smile and stood up, pushing the car door closed behind her and strutted up to the front door.

Sky sat in the car for a few minutes, watching the closed door. Did this have anything to do with Jackson finding out about the werewolf situation? God, what a complete and utter cluster-fuck. Everything was falling apart and she had no idea what to do. She knew that Lydia was hurting, but there was no way in hell that she would ever admit it. Allison was... Wait. Did Jackson break-up with Lydia for Allison? Jesus Christ, if that was the reason, Skyler was going to murder Allison. She hoped that Scott managed to dislocate something of Jackson's at the lacrosse game tonight. Actually, scratch that, she hoped that Stiles dislocated something of Jackson's.

She grinned fondly, remembering that Stiles was starting tonight, on first line and everything. Skyler sighed, realising that she had to get home and finish her homework before heading to Stiles'. They had decided to go for a little pre-game dinner together in Wendy's. Pulling back onto the road, she switched on the radio and turning up her Pink Floyd CD. It helped clear her mind, and that was what she needed right now. A clear mind, completely free of distraction. But even Pink Floyd wasn't working. It was going to be a very long day.

She had been right. As she dragged herself up the stairs to Stiles' room she felt like she hadn't slept in days, her entire body felt sore from the mental exhaustion of everything that had happened today, and she was still thinking up inventive ways to make Jackson suffer. Skyler had decided that death was much to simple for a Grade A asshole and was onto castration techniques at this point. She paused outside Stiles' bedroom door as she heard voices from within, she knew that the Sheriff was working and Scott was too. Her heart thumped wildly as she considered the possibility of Stiles bringing a girl home. Scolding herself for being so childish, Sky rapped her knuckles on the door three times in quick succession, turned the door knob and walked in.

Stiles was sitting in his computer chair in front of desk, turned sideways slightly to face the other man in the chair next to him. Strangely enough, it was Danny. Standing in the doorway, she took in the odd scene, seeing the exasperation on Stiles' face and the matching expression on Danny's. She knew that while Danny didn't hate her best friend, he certainly had an active dislike for the boy and had absolutely no idea why he would be in Stiles' room.

"I feel like I'm missing something," she quipped, moving forward into the room and pushing the door closed behind her.

"Bio partners," Danny grumbled, looking none too happy about the fact. "He's trying to get me to trace a text."

"Didn't you tell me that you got arrested for that?"

"Can we drop it please?" He snapped, then looked over his shoulder towards the bed and back to Stiles. "And who's he again?"

Skyler spun on the spot, not having realised that there was another person in the room, and her mouth dropped open. Derek was sat bolt upright in the chair next to Stiles' bed, scowling at the encyclopedia in his lap. There was blood down the front of his tight gray shirt and Sky wondered what the hell possessed him to hide in the house of the fucking Sheriff of Beacon County. What possessed Stiles to allow him to hide there? She was about tell Derek what an asshole he was for not coming to see her or returning her calls, and to then beat the shit out of him, when she remembered that it was probably not a great idea to let Danny know that the creepy hot guy in Stiles' chair was a wanted murder suspect.

"You remember my cousin, Miguel, don't you?" Stiles asked, eyes widening and desperation colouring his tone.

"Oh, yeah," Sky supplied quickly, her voice sounding much more like a question than an answer. "The, uh, the stripper, right?" She bit her tongue to stop herself laughing at the expression on Derek's face.

"No," he growled out, snapping the book shut. Sky's indignation flared up. That was really the first thing he was going to say to her after days and days of radio silence and letting her think that he was dead?

"Oh, no. I remember seeing you perform, you very ever such a talented dancer. Those assless chaps really suited you." She heard Danny shuffle awkwardly and Stiles groan into his hands. "It was at that gay club above the doughnut shop, wasn't it?" Derek gave her the most 'fuck you' look she had ever seen as she sat on the edge of the bed, bring her legs up Indian style. She was wearing her most comfortable pair of boyfriend jeans, ratty black low top converse and a Led Zeppelin crop top with one of Stiles' lacrosse hoodies thrown on top. Rebecca had even painted a white two on one cheek and a maroon four on the other. They had both been delightfully excited about Stiles' first game. Skyler had made a sign for him the day before, which was now nestled in her backpack, rolled into a tube. It was very glittery and overly pink, and the kind of sign that Skyler would roll her eyes at if Lydia had made it for Jackson, but she felt like she had to do something special for

him. It said "STILES IS #1" on the front and on the flip side, it read "GO STILINSKI!"

"Is that blood on his shirt?" Danny asked, eyes roving over Derek's chest.

"Yeah. Yes." Stiles stuttered over his words, eyes flickering between Danny, who was watching Derek with obvious lust, Derek, who just looked incredibly angry, and Sky, who was picking at a Red Hot Chili Peppers bracelet. "Well, he gets these horrible nosebleeds," Stiles explained hurriedly, gesturing for Derek to go to the dresser. "Hey, Miguel. I thought I told you you could borrow one of my shirts." Derek threw the book on the bed, narrowly missing Skyler's leg. She stuck out her tongue childishly and he rolled his eyes.

"So anyway, I mean, we both know that you have the skills to trace that text," Stiles started again, staring imploringly at Danny. "So we should probably-"

"Uh, Stiles."

Sky turned to face and her entire mind went blank. He was holding one of Stiles' t-shirts in his hands, stretching it out. He had already taken his gray shirt off and was standing there bare-chested. She had seen many shirtless men, swimming, on TV, online, and she had even seen Scott, Zach, Jackson and Stiles shirtless, but Derek? Wow. He was ripped beyond belief, and she wondered if it was just a werewolf thing because there was no other way that his muscles could be that defined. Derek's stomach was the definition of washboards abs, his pecs were bulging, his shoulders were broad and his arms were thick with muscle. Her eyes were inexorably drawn down to the waistband of his jeans, wondering what was underneath. She shifted, unfolding her legs and instead crossed one over the other, clenching them together and biting her lip to distract herself from thoughts of what Derek kept in his pants. It's not like she would ever go there, he was too old for her and it would be illegal, but it couldn't hurt to imagine.

"Yes?" Stiles asked exasperatedly, throwing a dramatic look over his shoulder at Derek, Danny following suit.

"This. No fit." He tugged on the shirt, which Skyler was fairly sure would be small even on Stiles, and deepened his glare.

"Then try something else on," he ground out, rolling his eyes. "Sorry." He turned back to the desk and it took him a few seconds to notice that Sky and Danny were still watching as Derek pulled on the stripey t-shirt. He couldn't care less about Danny, but it gave him a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach when he saw the mesmerised look on Skyler's face as she examined the triskele on his back. Objectively, as a man comfortable with his sexuality, Stiles knew that Derek was a very good looking guy, if you liked the tall, dark and handsome look, not to mention the buff, mysterious aura he also gave off. Unfortunately, most people did like that look, including Skyler. He turned to Danny, who was still staring at Derek.

"Hey, that one looks pretty good, huh?" Stiles caught Danny's attention and nodding at the man who had just pulled on the striped shirt. It was much too tight, and made him look like an overgrown sulky child but neither Skyler nor Danny seemed to mind. "What d'you think, Danny? The shirt?"

"It's, uh..." Danny blushed darkly, and Sky grinned over at her friend. Derek was just Danny's type. "It's not really his colour." Derek glowered at Stiles and hauled the shirt back up over his head, tossing it to the ground.

"You swing for a different team but you still play ball, don't ya, Danny boy?" Stiles muttered quietly.

"You're a horrible person."

"I know, it keeps me awake at night. Anyway, about that text-"

"Stiles!" Derek snapped, waving one of Stiles' shirts at him. "None of these fit!"

Stiles glanced at Danny one more time and the boy sighed, eyeing Derek's bare chest one last time before turning back to Stiles' laptop on the desk.

"I'll need the ISP, the phone number and the exact time of text," he told them, starting to type furiously.

"I'll help you find a shirt," Skyler stood and walked over to the werewolf, opening one of Stiles' drawers and starting to sort through the array of t-shirts there. "You're an asshole," Skyler hissed under her breath, jabbing Derek in the rib with her elbow. She tried not to get distracted by his rippling muscles, she was too busy trying to convey just how much of an arse he was. "You let me think you were dead for days and when I found out that you were alive, you didn't come and see me or return any of my calls, or even, God forbid, fucking text me."

"Well, I am so sorry," Derek barked out a sarcastic laugh, picking out a light blue shirt before tossing it aside, "That I was running for my life and trying to heal myself. I should've popped in for brunch."

"You could've stayed with me, y'know, fuckface," Skyler hissed back, aggressively sorting through Stiles' shirts, occasionally throwing one in Derek's face. "In a house that doesn't belong to the Sheriff of Beacon Hills. Goddamn idiot."

"I didn't want to impose," Derek whispered, surprisingly softly for such a gruff man. "You have enough going on right now, you don't need me adding to your problems."

Sky's heart swelled at the unexpected show of caring. "You're not a problem, Derek. You're my...almost friend." He raised an eyebrow at her, the corner of her lip twitching up. "Well I'm not gonna call you my friend. Friends don't let other friends think that they're dead and then not call them."

"You're still not over that?"

"No. And listen, you can still stay with me if you need to. You know if the Sheriff finds you in Stiles' room, you're gonna have some serious questions to answer." Sky held up a strange pink coloured dress shirt to Derek and he glared at her, baring his teeth. "Hanging around in a teenage boy's room is super creepy, dude. And what problems are bad enough that I couldn't at least let you curl up at the foot of my bed?"

"The Alpha, your father, your angst filled friends, Scott and his werewolf problems. Stiles."

"I don't have a problem with Stiles. Stiles isn't a problem," Skyler snapped, glancing over her shoulder to make sure that Stiles hadn't heard what they were saying. "What the hell d'you mean? Shut up."

"I mean the way your heartbeat rises whenever you two are in the same room. It's quite pathetic. I mean, him? Really?" Derek pulled out a charcoal coloured shirt. Skyler was quite glad that he took his time pulling the shirt on over his head, so that she could hide her blush. Was it seriously that obvious?

"Fuck off," she muttered. "I don't like him."

"Denial's not a good colour on you, Gray," he deadpanned as he pushed his arms into the sleeves. She stuck up her middle finger at him as Danny announced that he was finished.

"There," Danny pointed to the screen as Stiles leaned in, and Skyler and Derek stood behind him, watching over his shoulders. "The text was sent from a computer. This one."

"Registered to that account name?" Derek's voice was harsh, betraying nothing of what he was feeling inside, which was the shock that was overtaking both Stiles and Skyler.

"No, no, no, no," Stiles whispered, peering at the name on the screen and hoping against hope that there was some mistake. "That can't be right."

The name on the screen was Melissa McCall.

Skyler banged her head off the roof of the Jeep as they ran over a bump in the road. She was kneeling on the back seat, sticking her head into the front between the two men so she could hear Scott through the phone.

"Did you get the picture?" The crackling voice came spoke. Scott had sent them a picture several minutes ago of Allison's necklace that he had managed to steal from Allison's bedroom.

"Yeah, I did," Stiles replied, glancing down at the phone in his hand. "And it looks just like the drawing."

"Hey, is there something on the back of it?" Derek asked, snatching the phone from Stiles. "An inscription, an opening, something?"

"No, no, the thing's flat. And, no, it doesn't open. There's nothing in it, on it, around it, nothing," Scott insisted, then returned to his conversation with Stiles. "And where are you? You're supposed to be here. You're first line." Sky could hear the Coach yelling something unintelligible on the other line. "Man, you're not gonna play if you're not here to start."

"I know," Stiles sighed despondently, he plucked the phone out of Derek's hand and held it up to his ear. "Look, if you see my dad, can you tell him...tell him I'll be there, I'll just be a little bit late, okay? All right, thanks." He ended the call and dropped the phone in the doorwell.

"You're not going to make it," Derek stated harshly, voice low and husky.

"I know," Stiles replied, trying to keep his voice emotionless, but Sky could hear the disappointment.

Skyler leaned forward, resting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing gently. "You can still make it, Stiles. If you just leave me and Derek at the hospital and hurry, you'll get there in time," she told him gently.

"What, and leave you on your own?" Stiles asked bitterly. "What happens if you get attacked?"

"I'll have Derek with me. It'll be fine," she brushed off his concern easily.

"And remember what happened last time sour wolf here went up against the Alpha?" Stiles questioned her, a note of venom in his voice. "He nearly died, and so did we. And there were six of us that night, if Derek gets hurt then you're on your own this time. There'll be other games."

"Neither of us plan on dying tonight, so I think we've got it covered."

"I said no!" Stiles snapped, making Sky recoil slightly. He glanced back and saw the hurt expression on her face. He sighed and pursed his lips. "I'm sorry, okay? But if I left you and something happened to you, then I could never forgive myself." Sky opened her mouth to protest but Stiles cut her off with a harsh, "End of discussion."

She slumped back in the seat, letting out a huff. Sky was pissed off that Stiles was missing the game, also touched that he wanted to look after, but mostly just pissed.

"You didn't tell him about his mom," Derek commented, acting as if the conversation between Stiles and Skyler hadn't happened.

"Not until we know the truth," Stiles told him as he pulled to a stop in front of the entrance to Melissa's ward.

"Wait a minute," Skyler stuck her head inbetween Stiles. "If Melissa was the Alpha, wouldn't Scott have been born a werewolf? And if she was bitten, wouldn't she have to kill the Alpha to become one? Correct me if I'm wrong, but Melissa doesn't seem like the killing type."

"It's rare, but possible that a werewolf can have a child that doesn't inherit the gift," Derek explained darkly, keeping his eyes on the doors of the hospital. "It's more than likely that she's just helping him."

"Did you seriously just refer to being a werewolf as 'the gift'? That sounds so fucking cult-ish, you weirdo." Skyler screwed up her face and Derek scowled at her. "Anyways, me and Stiles are gonna go check out the hospital, we'll call if we need you."

"By the way, one more thing," Derek said in an unusually light tone for the usually grumpy werewolf.

"Yeah," Stiles asked, glancing sideways at Derek. The older man reached up quickly, grasped the back of Stiles' head and slammed it against the steering wheel. Sky jumped back in shock at the harsh sound of Stiles' forehead colliding with the wheel. Why was Derek so goddamn violent? It was a real problem and it was beginning to worry her.

"Oh, God," Stiles groaned in pain, leaning back and clutching his head. "What the hell was-"

"You know what that was for. Go," Derek told him harshly, voice back to his usual low pitch, pointing towards the hospital doors. "Go!" Stiles climbed out of the Jeep, muttering to himself and rubbing his head. Sky slipped over the front seat, keeping herself as far from Derek as possible. She paused for a moment, sitting in the driver's seat.

"That was mean and unnecessary," she scolded him, crossing her arms and glaring.

"You two tried to pimp me out to your friend," he growled, turning his head slightly to watch her from the corner of his eye. "You called me a stripper," he added, his voice coldly furious, "And said...other things."

"We needed to get him to trace the text," Skyler shrugged, biting back a grin. "And face it Derek, you'd look great in assless chaps. Everyone looks great in assless chaps."

"GO!" He snarled, shoving her not too gently out of the Jeep. She hopped down onto the tarmac of the parking lot, kicking the door shut behind her with one foot and jogging the few meters over to Stiles. He was still rubbing his forehead, which had started to turn an angry red. Giggling as she came to a halt next to him, she reached up on her tip toes and pressed her lips to his forehead for a fleeting second before skipping through the automatic doors.

"Come on, slowpoke," Sky called over her shoulder, seeing Stiles standing in the doorway, gazing after her and wearing a dumbfounded expression.

"That really hurt," he grumbled, hurrying to catch up to her.

"Well, it's your fault for trying to pimp him out," Sky sighed, shaking her head at the boy. "And telling Danny that he was your stripper cousin."

"I guess. I mean that was kinda-" He stopped suddenly, staring at her incredulously. "I said he was my cousin, you told Danny that he was a stripper! And you're the one that went all touchy feely when wonder wolf touch his shirt off." She could sense a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"And why does that bother you?" She inquired lightly.

"I didn't say it bothered me? Why would it bother me? Did Derek say it bothered me? What the hell did he say?" Skyler chuckled at his barely coherent babbling. "Shut up."

"I didn't say anything," Sky laughed, holding up her hands defensively. "And if a handsome man takes off his shirt, I will watch and appreciate." She took a deep breath as they entered the lift, and continued. "I definitely appreciated it when you took your shirt off the other night."

"W-w-w-what?" Stiles sputtered wildly, hands coming up to grasp at his chest, lying his palms flat over his pecs.

"Yes, Stiles, that's right, cover your tits," Sky grinned at the look of shock on his face. "And, yeah, I appreciated your torso. It's lovely."

"Uh, I'm sure you have a very nice torso too," Stiles told her, words pouring out of his mouth in a barely audible mumble, gesturing to her chest and accidentally slapping her in the boob with the back of his hand.

"Holy shit, Stilinski," she moaned as she tumbled out of the lift, clutching her breast. "Right in the freakin' nipple."

"I'm so sorry, I am so, so sorry," he gushed, trailing after her.

"I'm sorry for appreciating your chest, I know it was unforgivable but there was no need to so brutally injure me."

"I didn't mean to hit you, I am really sorry," Stiles apologised, placing a hand on her shoulder as she turned the corner to the nurses' station Melissa was supposed to be working in, bent double and groaning exaggeratedly. "Are you alright? Sky, talk to me, are you okay?!"

"Jesus Christ, Stiles," Sky straightened up, grinning at his terrified face. "I was joking, I'm fine. Now come on, we gotta find Melissa." She wandered over to the desk in the center of the wide-open space. It was empty of any nurses, so were the storage cupboards or the patient free rooms surrounding it.

"No one around," Stiles called out, reemerging from a room across the hall.

"I can't find anyone either." All of a sudden, the idea to enter the hospital on their own without any protection seemed foolish and a bit on the terrifying side. She moved closer to Stiles and he reached put, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and tucking her close to him. "I think you should call Derek now," she whispered, sliding an arm around his waist and clutching at his hip. She suddenly remembered the last time she had been that close to Stiles. It was when they had woken up in bed together, curled around each other, and Stiles' erection had been pressing against her.

"I think I agree with you," Stiles murmured in return, tugging his phone out of his pants pocket. He dialed quickly and pressed the phone to his ear, not bothering with pleasant greetings. "We can't find Melissa." He waited a few seconds. "Yeah, I said we can't find her." Stiles waited for a second and then rolled his eyes and looked at Skyler. "Have you seem Derek's uncle Peter by any chance?"

"Put him on speakerphone," she demanded, and Stiles held out his hand, holding the phone in his palm. She thought back to the card pinned to the wall outside of the hospital room that read 'Peter Hale'."Derek, you uncle's not here either, I was just in his room. It was empty."

"What?" Derek asked, sounding slightly disbelieving.

"He's not here," Stiles repeated, voice starting to shake gently. "He's gone, Derek."

"Sky, Stiles, get out of there right now! It's him!" Derek was yelling down the phone at them, setting Sky's heart off beating a mile a minute. "He's the Alpha! Get out!"

Stiles spun on the spot, bringing Skyler with him. She gasped as they turned to face what had been an empty hall a minute ago. Now it was occupied by a tall man in a long black leather coat and black shirt, terrible burn scars covered half of his face, even some of the hair on the side of his face had been singed away by whatever had disfigured him so horrifically. She stared at him for a few moments, and he returned her gaze, smirking gently at her. The corner of his mouth was barely raised, but it made her squirm uncomfortably. And then it hit her, why this man was so strangely familiar.

His stance, the strong sloped shoulders, the shape of his face, his strong jawline and the thinning Cupid's bow shaped mouth. They all reminded her of Derek. So this was his comatose uncle. His uncle that hadn't been able to feed himself, go to the bathroom by himself, he hadn't been able to move by himself for the past ten years. Either it was a medical anomaly that he had just stood up and started to walk around today of all days, and also one hell of a huge coincidence that he had done it when Stiles and Skyler had turned up, or his werewolf healing had kicked in a few weeks ago and he was the one who had been running wildly around Beacon Hills murdering people. The latter seemed more likely, which meant that she and Stiles were now trapped in the deserted hospital with the Alpha.

"You must be Stiles, and Skyler, of course," Peter greeted them softly, eyes moving from Stiles to Skyler. Stiles stepped in front of her, using his arm to press Sky behind him until she was only peeking over his shoulder at Derek's terrifying uncle. Stiles turned around until he was chest to chest with Sky, and spun her by her shoulders, both facing the exit, their backs to Peter. Skyler knew that making a run for it would be useless, but it was still disheartening to see a red-haired woman in a nurse's uniform blocking the doors.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, with the air of someone who already knew the answer to the question. "Visiting hours are over."

"Sky's a special friend of mine. Aren't you, dear?" Peter told the nurse, taking a step closer to Skyler, tilting his head sideways like an inquisitive dog and smiling. "We've had how many run-ins now? Three? Four?"

"Something like that," Sky whispered, unable to think of anything else to say.

"You...and him. You're-you're the one who... Oh, my... And he's-" Stiles muttered to himself, glancing between Peter and the nurse, standing so that he could keep both of them in his line of sight at all times. Skyler whimpered, burrowing her face into the space between Stiles shoulders. She remembered her last encounter with Peter, in the locker room of the school. She had stabbed him in the paw. Or was it foot now? He was probably quite pissed off either way.

"We're gonna die," Stiles moaned, reaching his arms behind him to grip Skyler's waist. She wrapped her around him, resting her palms flat against his stomach and squeezing her eyes shut, praying that if she was going to die then it would be fast. She heard Jennifer move, felt Stiles tense underneath her touch and knew that the end was coming. But there was a pause, a sickening sound of bone connecting with bone and a thud as a heavy weight dropped to the floor. Skyler lifted her head from Stiles' back and looked up to see Derek standing over the nurse's unconscious form, staring down his uncle with an awful ferocity.

"That's not nice," Peter drawled, sidling ever so slightly closer to the three of them. "She's my nurse."

"She's a psychotic bitch helping you kill people," Derek snapped flatly, eyes flickering to Stiles and Skyler who were still clinging to each other in the middle of the hallway. "Get out of the way."

Stiles spun on one foot, pulling Sky against his chest and shoving her back a few steps as Peter advanced on his nephew. Derek held his ground ad Peter drew closer, staring his uncle down, his eyes burning with anger. Stiles pressed Skyler back against the nurse's station, trying to shield her from whatever was about to happen.

"You think I killed Laura on purpose?" The older werewolf asked, advancing on his nephew. "One of my own family?"

Derek snarled, jumping and planting a foot against the wall, pushing himself towards his uncle. Peter practically rolled his eyes as Derek swiped at him with a clawed hand. He slipped quickly out of the way and grabbed Derek by the shirt, tossing him into the opposite wall. The plaster cracked under the force of Derek hitting it, leaving clouds of white dust billowing around him as he dropped, body limp, to the floor. Skyler let out a shriek and made to run to him, but Stiles kept her where she was, watching Peter warily as he walked to Derek. He reached down, wrapping a hand around Derek's throat and hauling him upright until his toes were barely skimming the floor.

"My mind, my personality, were literally burned out of me," the Alpha told him, dragging him back towards the nurse as Derek gasped for breath. "I was driven by pure instinct." He dropped Derek on the floor next to the nurse's body and leaned down, rooting through one of her pockets until he found a set of keys and slid them into his jacket.

"You want forgiveness?" Derek growled, clambering to his feet and taking a swing at Peter. He caught the older werewolf in the face, but it seemed to do nothing but irritate him. He blocked Derek's next punch and grabbed him by the collar, headbutting him sharply. Sky whimpered as Derek's legs nearly gave out from under him. Stiles shushed her, and began to shuffle backwards as slowly as he could, trying not to attract the attention of either werewolf.

"I want understanding," Peter growled, lifting a leg and kicking Derek squarely in the chest. He went flying, hitting the ground on his back with enough momentum to send him rolling over until he was sprawled on his front. He glanced up, catching Skyler's eye as she struggled against Stiles' grip. She wanted to help Derek. Peter was kicking his ass, and had already proved that killing his family wasn't a bother for him. If he had murdered his niece, what was to stop him from cutting his nephew in half too?

Derek shifted his gaze from her to Stiles, who was staring at him in terror. He took a deep breath and jerked his head down the hall before whispering, "Get her out of here." Stiles nodded once and tightened his arms around her, renewing his efforts to drag her away from the werewolf fight and towards the elevator.

"Stiles, we can't leave him!" Sky screamed, trying to pry his arms off her, but Stiles was deceptively strong and instead, lifted her of the ground by her waist, leaving her legs to windmill wildly in the air. "Put me down, Stiles!" He grunted with the effort of the holding onto the girl. He let go of her with one hand to press the elevator button, and had to dig his fingers into the skin of her waist to keep a hold on her as the doors slid open. He backed through them, Skyler still flush against his chest as Peter moved to stand over Derek and sent them a final smirk as the doors slid closed and the last thing they saw was Derek cough up a mouthful of blood onto the lino flooring.

Stiles let Skyler go and she collapsed to her knees as the elevator started it's descent to the ground floor. "What the hell, Stilinski?!" She practically roared, climbing shakily back to her feet and pushing him hard in the chest with trembling hands. "Peter could kill him! We need to go back and help him!"

"How would we be any help to him?" Stiles snapped back, running a hand over his hair and sighing. "We both would have died, and then neither of us would be any help to anyone. Derek can look after himself."

"Do you not remember the last time Derek went up against the Alpha, he nearly died," Skyler cried, throwing her arms wide. "The only reason he didn't die then was because he was distracted by trying to kill us." She dropped her face into her hands as she thought of Derek up there on his own, having to fight his own uncle. She looked up when she heard the doors slide open and saw that Stiles was standing half out of the elevator, holding out a hand to her.

"Come on, you know that we can't help him," he told her softly. "The best thing we can do right now is get to the school and warn Scott." Skyler shifted from one foot to the other for a few seconds before reaching out and taking hold of Stiles' hand. She felt sick leaving Derek there with Peter, but deep down, she knew that Stiles was right. She would've been more of a hindrance than a help. Stiles laced their fingers together and smiled at her, tugging her after him as he started to run towards the parking lot.

The Jeep was right where they had left it, the front passenger door still wide open from when Derek had followed them into the hospital. She let Stiles go and slid into the passenger seat, slamming the door behind her. She clambered onto his knees, reaching over the to the backseat and grabbing her backpack. She nearly flew off the seat as Stiles sped out of the parking lot, swerving sharply to the left. There was a missed call from Rebecca, and a few texts, wondering where her and Stiles were, and another from Danny, asking if Stiles' cousin Miguel was single. She fired off a quick text to Becca, telling her that Stiles hadn't been feeling well and that he had stayed with him while he sat out the game. She dialed Scott's number, pressing the phone against her ear and praying that the boy would answer his phone.

"He's not picking up," she told Stiles after several attempts to get through to the teen wolf.

Stiles swore and slammed his palm against the steering wheel. "He's probably just finishing up the game," he whispered downheartedly.

"Stiles, I really am sorry about the game," Skyler murmured, placing her hand over his bicep and traced it down until she was covering his hand with hers. "I'll just have to save the poster for next time."

"You made a poster?" Stiles asked, voice unsteady.

"Yeah, took me fucking ages and all, but it was well worth it," Sky grinned down at her lap, picking at a fraying thread sticking out of her carefully ripped jeans.

"That's really, uh, that's really sweet of you," he coughed, sounding uncertain of how to continue. "No one's ever done anything so..."

"Pointlessly sweet?" She asked with a quiet giggle. It was almost like she had forgotten that Derek was locked in a life-or-death battle with his psycho uncle, and that they were speeding to the school to warn Scott of the super-Alpha that was on his way. "Well you're my friend, right? And what are friends for?"

"Yeah, best friends." Stiles let go of the wheel with the hand that Sky was touching and turned it so that he could slide his hand into hers as they skidded into the school's parking lot, screeching to a halt outside the door closest to the locker rooms.

They both jumped out of the Jeep, Stiles only letting go of her hand for a moment, until they were both standing next to each other outside the doors to the school. Stiles reached down and grasped her hand, gripping it tight in one of his and felt that it was trembling.

"Hey, hey," he cupped her face with one hand, turning her head to look at him. "Derek's gonna be fine, but what we gotta concentrate on now is getting to Scott, and then I'll take you to find Derek, I'll bring you myself, okay?"

"Okay," she nodded, trying to stop herself trembling. She nuzzled her cheek into Stiles' hand and he smiled at her fondly. "Thanks, Stiles." He leaned down quickly and pressed his lips to her cheek. just at the corner of her mouth. He held them there for a second, closing his eyes and breathing her in. Her skin was soft, and cold and felt so natural against his lips, like it had in the locker room. Her face was flushed when he pulled back and it gave him a rush to think that he might be the cause of the deep blush running across her face.

Skyler stared at him in amazement, trying to memorise the feeling of his lips against her skin. Before, her hands had been shaking, now, her entire body felt like there was an electric current racing through her body, setting every nerve on fire. She took a deep breath and hopped up the steps to the school, dragging Stiles behind her. She could worry about Derek in a while, when she had time, and she could remember every second that Stiles' lips had been pressed against hers later, when she was alone in her bed. But for now, they had to get to Scott.


	19. Date Night

"Allison, when you said you needed to stop for an errand before we went shopping, a five mile hike in the woods was not what I was expecting." Lydia looked down at the mud and leaves coating her shoes in disgust.

"We've been walking for about ten minutes, Lydia," Sky said, looking over her shoulder and snorting at Lydia's little stumble. "Don't be such a damn drama queen."

"Well, you're not wearing five hundred dollar Louboutin heels, are you?" Lydia sniped back, gesturing at her own shoes.

"No, I wore sensible, normal person shoes." Sky kicked up a pile of leaves with the toe of her Converse and turned her attention to Allison's back. The dark haired girl had stalked off ahead of them, shoulders set rigidly, bag strap clutched in her hand, her bow sticking out of the ends. She could tell that something was wrong, but she could also tell that it was more than likely something to do with Scott, and she did not want to go there. Every time Allison had brought up the end of her relationship with Scott, Sky either sided with Scott, and told Allison that breaking up with him was ridiculous, or refused to take sides, depending on how she felt that day. Loyalty to her friend only went so far when said friend was being ridiculous.

"Before I forget, I wanna ask if you're okay with something," Allison called out, not even looking over her shoulder or waiting for Lydia to answer. "Jackson asked me to the Winter Formal."

Skyler's eyes darted over to her red-haired friend. Lydia was watching Allison with a mixture of guilt and pain. Judging by the venom in her voice and the deliberate way that Allison had pretended she was asking for Lydia's approval, it was clear that Allison was obviously aware of the kiss between Lydia and Scott, and Sky had to hope that she was still in the dark about what had happened between her and Scott, too. Lydia glanced over at her and raised her eyebrows, asking Skyler how to reply. Sky shrugged, sending the girl a 'What Am I Supposed To Do About It?" look. Sky could see that Lydia's lower lip was trembling slightly and wanted to smack Allison around the back of the head. Okay, so Lydia shouldn't have kissed Scott, but at least she hadn't thrown in in Allison's face.

"Did he?" Lydia asked, and Sky could hear the waver in her voice. She wasn't quite shire whose side she was on in this particular situation. Lydia was in the wrong, but Allison was being a bit of a bitch.

"Huh. Just as friends," Allison sounded slightly sarcastic and the two girls behind her shot each other worried looks. They had never heard her speak so coldly before. "But I wanted to make sure you're okay with it first."

"Sure, as long as it's just as friends," Lydia lied through her teeth. Sky felt like she should interject at this point, but she had no idea what to say, or how to diffuse the situation.

""Yeah, I mean," Allison stood still and laughed shrilly. "It's not like I would take him to the coach's office during lacrosse practice to make out with him or anything."

"Balls," Skyler whispered under her breath, eyes dancing between her two friends. Allison was glaring over her shoulder at them and Lydia was looking guilty as hell. If looks could kill, Lyds would be six feet under by now.

"Uh, about that-" Lydia stuttered, jogging up to stand next to Allison.

"You really didn't think I'd find out?" Allison shrieked, whirling around and whipping Lydia in the face with her hair. "You really thought you could get away with that?"

"Allison, I'm really truly sorry," Lydia was unnaturally repentant, almost down on her knees to beg forgiveness. "I was angry with Jackson, and I didn't know what to do, and-"

"So, you made out with my boyfriend?" Allison snarled, stepping to Lydia and puffing her chest out.

"I didn't mean for it to happen!" She exclaimed, grabbing one of Allison's hands. Skyler sidled over to them, trying her utmost to stay out of their way as Allison's anger poured off her in waves.

"Well, it did!" Allison shouted, pulling her hand out of Lydia's and stumbling back a few steps. "And you kissed my boyfriend, Lydia! You kissed Scott!"

"Okay, okay, okay," Sky stepped inbetween the two of them, pushing them apart before it could get too heated. "We're all kind of in the wrong here, but that's no reason to get all worked up."

"What d'you mean we're all in the wrong?" Allison asked, disbelief across her face. "How am I in the wrong?! Lydia's the one who kissed my boyfriend!"

"He's not actually your boyfriend," Sky reasoned, chuckling nervously. "You kinda broke up with him, remember?"

"I remember that, obviously," the dark haired girl pulled away from Skyler slightly, glaring at her. "It doesn't matter! I still love him!"

"Well, you probably shouldn't have broken up with him, then! Look, Lydia didn't mean to do it, and, to be fair, you were constantly flirting with her boyfriend, even if you didn't mean it. So, we're all a bit in the wrong here. Can we leave it at that?"

"How are you in the wrong?"

"What?" Skyler asked, confused at Allison's question.

"How are you in the wrong?" She repeated, taking a step back from Skyler. "You keep saying that we're all in the wrong, not just Lydia and I. What did you do?" Allison's voice was growing shriller by the second, and Skyler knew that she had screwed up.

"Oh, uh, I just meant that, you know, you keep telling me that I should pick a side, you or Scott, and I-"

"No, don't lie to me, Skyler. What the hell did you do?" Sky could feel Lydia backing away from the pair of them and closed her eyes, knowing that she would have to explain to Allison what had happened.

"Alright, before you go ballistic on me, let me point out that it wasn't my fault." Sky started, holding up her hands in a defensive pose. "The day we went back to school after we had the girl's night, I was kind of hungover and emotional, and Scott was really, and I mean seriously, cut up about you dumping him, and he might have, kind of, kissed me."

"Are you kidding me?!" Allison shrieked.

"He kissed me! He kissed me! He kissed me!" Sky yelled, dancing backwards a few steps as Allison advanced on her, nearly hitting her with the bag. "He kissed me, and I pushed him off, he apologised and it was forgotten!"

"I'm not going to forget it," Allison snarled. "You both kissed my boyfriend! Do you guys think that that's okay or something?"

"Ally, you broke up with him. You can't expect him to just expect him to pine after you," Sky reasoned, coming to a halt next to Lydia, both girls facing down their friend. "And I did not kiss him, he kissed me, so you're not allowed to blame me for that one. And Lydia kissed him because you were flirting with Jackson. Ridiculously so, I might add."

"But..." Allison trailed off, unable to think of what to say next. "But..."

"Like I said," Skyler reiterated, "We're all in the wrong here, and we all need to move past this. Guys are not worth fighting over." Everyone was quiet for a minute, all three girls glancing at each other. "Okay?"

"I'm sorry for kissing Scott," Lydia whispered, gazing up through her lashes at Allison who was shifting awkwardly from foot to foot.

"And I'm sorry for kissing him too," Sky prompted, raising her eyebrows at Allison. She decided not to mention that it hadn't been her fault that Scott had kissed her, and that she technically shouldn't have had to apologise.

"I guess I shouldn't be spending so much time with Jackson now that you guys have broken up," Allison mumbled, looking down at her feet. Skyler cleared her throat, and shot her friend a warning look. "I'm sorry too," she added, sounding unhappy that she was being forced to apologise.

"Now, can we please go do whatever you need to do, Allison," Sky asked, sighing in relief that the girls had stopped snapping at each other. "Because, and I never thought I'd say this, I want to get out of these goddamn woods and go dress shopping."

"Fine," she said, turning on her heel and striding forwards again. Lydia and Skyler scurried after her, hopping over leaves and logs until they reached a large enough clearing. Allison skirted around the perimeter of the clearing until she reached a spot directly across from a large oak tree. She threw her bag down and crouched to unzip it as the other two girls hovered behind her, uncertain of what Allison was planning.

"So, are you gonna tell us what we're actually here for?" Sky asked, hopping from one foot to the other, trying to warm herself up. She wished she had worn more than a pair of skinny jeans and a three quarter sleeved Mets shirt. She cursed herself for leaving her Hogwarts jumper in the car.

"This was in my garage last night, I think my dad or Kate must have dropped it," Allison pulled out an arrowhead, silver and ridged, wickedly sharp at the tip. She held it up for them to see from her position on the floor. She plucked an arrow shaft from the bag and started screwing the head on.

"What does it do?" Lydia asked in awe, glancing down in wonder at the tiny weapon.

"We're about to find out," Allison replied, her voice almost excited. Standing, she notched the arrow in her bow, drawing the string back and aiming at the tree. Skyler's heart jumped in her chest. There was no doubt that this was a weapon for hunting werewolves, and from what Derek and Scott had told her, Allison's entire family were badass werewolf killing mofos. Scary, badass werewolf killing mofos. And the last thing she needed was Allison getting in on the action. That would spell trouble for everyone, especially her werewolf ex-boyfriend that she was still in love with and that was still in love with her.

The crisp ping of the string being released snapped Sky back to the present. The arrow flew across the clearing, hitting its target directly. White sparks exploded from the arrowhead as it burrowed into the bark of the tree trunk, causing Skyler to jump backwards, swearing in fright. Lydia gave out a gasp, but stayed where she was and watched the sparks began to die. Allison watched the arrow in delight as the shaft quivered, still sticking into the tree. What concerned Sky even more than the exploding arrowhead was the look on Allison's face. She was too excited about the potentially deadly weapon.

"What the hell was that?" Lydia inquired softly, wrapping her arms around herself.

"I don't know," Allison whispered, shaking her head slightly. She sounded more in awe and curious than afraid, which worried Skyler ever more.

"And you just found that lying in your garage?" Sky raised an eyebrow at Allison and scoffed, trying to make out like it was no big deal, when, in reality, she was itching to call Scott or Stiles and let them know what Ally had found. "Your dad IS an arms dealer, right? He probably just dropped it when he was dealing with a shipment, or whatever." Allison grunted noncommittally, keeping her eyes on the arrowhead, which was still letting out the occasional faltering spark.

"Well, that was fun," Lydia piped up, sarcastically. Taking a few steps forward, she turned and faced the two other girls, crossing her arms. "Any more lethal weapons you wanna try out?" Allison opened her mouth to respond, but before she could reply there was a rustle in the bushes to the right, and all three girls' heads snapped around unnaturally fast, falling silent. Sky's hand snaked down to her pocket, where she could feel the outline of her penknife pressing against the denim.

"Hold this," Allison murmured, pressing the bow into Lydia's hands and wandering in the direction of the noise.

"What? Why?" She asked, head darting back and forth like a startled puppy.

"Because she's going a-hunting," Sky sang, pivoting on one foot to take in the entire clearing.

"Because I thought I heard something," Allison corrected her, rolling her eyes.

"So what if you heard something?" Lydia squeaked.

"So I want to find out what that something is," Allison moved to the edge of the clearing, dropping her glove. "Don't worry, it's probably nothing."

"Well, what if it is something, and that something is dangerous?" Lydia called out as Allison peered deeper into the forest.

"Shoot it," the girl snapped, then strode off between the bushes and trees, and disappeared from sight.

"Well. Someone's in a bad mood," Sky joked after a few seconds of silence. "I wonder what's up with-"

"You kissed Scott?!" Lydia asked incredulously.

"You're one to talk," Sky shot back, staring at her in shock, the sudden turn of conversation almost giving her whiplash.

"Well it's expected of me, but you're meant to be the loyal friend," Lydia pursed her lips at Skyler and gave her a disappointed look.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Skyler shrieked, throwing her arms up. "I am allowed to make mistakes too, and anyway, how many times do I have to say it? SCOTT KISSED ME! I didn't want to kiss him."

"I thought that you liked his weirdo friend, was kissing Scott some way of making him jealous?" Sky rolled her eyes and groaned. Lydia wasn't going to listen to her. Sighing, she walked over to the tree that the arrow was still embedded in and gripped it, wriggling the arrowhead out of the thick bark. She held it up to her eyes, inspecting the ridges and tip. It was expertly crafted, with a tiny symbol etched into the silver. It was the same marking that was carved onto Allison's necklace. She began to unscrew the head from the shaft of the arrow, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Lydia wasn't watching her, before slipping the metal tip into her pocket. She would give it to Scott later, or maybe Derek, if he got his head out of his ass and stopped helping his serial killer asshole of an uncle.

She turned quickly, keeping the arrow shaft behind her back. Thankfully, Lydia had moved to the place where Allison had disappeared, and was peeking through the trees. Skyler sidled over to the bag that Ally had dropped, and slid the arrow through the zip. She made sure that the tail was sticking out slightly, just enough for it to seem like she had haphazardly thrown it into the bag. If she was lucky, Allison wouldn't even realise that the arrowhead was missing until she unpacked her archery bag. She paused again, throwing a look over her shoulder to make sure Lydia was still occupied. She opened the main compartment of Allison's gym bag. It was full of arrows, metal tips and archery gloves. She closed it, moving to one of the side pockets. This one was much more interesting than simple arrows. It was full of bullets, tightly packed bullets, with the same carved symbol as on the necklace and arrowhead. She pulled a few bullets out of the bag and slipped them into her pocket along with the arrow tip. She felt coarse grains of what seemed like sand between her fingertips as she closed the bag. When she looked down again, her fingers were stained purple. The bullets were infused with wolfsbane.

"What are you doing?"

"Jesus!" Skyler jumped as she heard Allison's voice above her. She sat back onto her haunches and gazed up at the girl. "I was just looking for water. Don't you archers drink?" Allison raised an eyebrow at her, and crossed her arms, obviously not believing anything Sky was saying. Just as she was about to throw out an even more ridiculous excuse as to why she had been rooting around in her friend's bag, a silver glimmer caught her eye. "Where did you get that? Didn't you lose it?"

It was the necklace that Scott had stolen from Allison's room. The engraved necklace that Allison's aunt Kate had given to her.

"It was Scott that we heard. My dad told him that I run this trail sometime," Ally's voice was thick with emotion. She sounded like there was a rock sized lump in her throat, and tears began to collect in the corners of her eyes. "He found it at school and wanted to give it back to me. I'm done, I think we should go shopping now." She slipped the strap of her bag over her shoulder and traipsed out of the clearing in the direction of her car. Lydia sighed and muttered something about tactlessness, and wandered after Allison. Sky felt bad that her friend was hurting over her breakup, but she was also really glad that Scott appearing had had managed to distract Allison from finding Skyler going through her things. She stood up, trying not to smile at the small victory and skipped after the two girls, making sure to sober herself once she reached the car. Both Lydia and Allison were sitting in broody silence as she settles in the back seat, and neither of them said a word on the way to the mall, which suited her just fine.

What did not suit her just fine was the several hours they spent in the 24 hour Macy's. No joke, it really was open twenty fours hours a day. Uch. Skyler was used to the kind of shopping where she was in and out in about a half an hour, and trying clothes on was not a necessity. She was more the type to hold a dress up against herself and guessed whether or not they'd fit. That was more than likely the reason that most of her clothes were either too big or too small. She had been sitting on one of the cushion chairs at the front of the store for nearly two hours, scrolling through her Facebook and complaining to Allison and Lydia about how long they were taking.

Sky had already picked out several dresses and put them on hold for her try closer to the time of the Winter Formal, and now she was bored and felt like crying. She slumped down on the seat, groaning in frustration and reading through more old messages. She was debating whether or not to call Stiles and complain to him too, when the screen lit up with Stiles' picture and his name across the top of the screen.

"Thank Christ," she answer, swiping to the side and pressing the phone to her ear. "I'm so bored I was seriously considering making a dragon out of coat hangers, please tell me you're coming to rescue me and drag me on an adventure."

"Something like that," Stiles let out between panting breaths, he sounded like he was running, very hard and very fast. "Peter took Scott's mom out on a date."

"Gross," Sky exclaimed, screwing up her face. "And why is this?"

"I don't know," he shouted back, exasperatedly. "To screw with Scott probably. Anyway, I need you to come with me."

"Not that I'm not happy to accompany you, but why do you need me?" She asked, starting to pull her jumper on over her head, trying as hard as she could to balance the phone between her ear and shoulder.

"Because I don't wanna go on my own," he huffed, and she could practically hear him rolling his eyes. "Now come on."

"Well I'm gonna have to convince the girls to leave Macy's and drop me home, and then-"

"Look up."

She glanced up to see Stiles throwing himself off the top of the escalator outside the store front. He was sweating profusely, face beet red and terrified. She hung up the phone, motioning for him to wait there, and darted off to the changing rooms. Lydia was twirling in front of a mirror, wearing a satiny turquoise dress and Allison was sticking her head out from behind one of the curtains, giggling at something the other girl had said.

"I gotta go!" Skyler shouted, careening into the dressing room and nearly knocking over Lydia. Both girls jumped about a foot in the air, spinning to see who was shouting at them.

"What, why?" Lydia demanded, hands on her hips and looking thoroughly unamused.

"Stiles needs me, so I gotta go," Sky explained hurriedly, too rushed to think of an actual excuse. "See ya." She turned and tripped over a chair, almost losing her balance completely before righting herself and continuing on. Stiles was still waiting for her at the top of the escalator, hopping nervously from one foot to the other.

"Come on," he chided, reaching for her hand and pulling her after him. He hurtled back down the escalator, almost taking a couple of people down with them. Sky was left trailing behind apologising to the disgruntled shoppers, or chuckling nervously at people that she had managed to hit with her shoulder bag. If it was any other situation, then it probably would've been fun, but the fact that Melissa was out with Peter was weighing heavily in both of their minds as they raced to the car. Skyler was shocked at just how dark it was when they emerged from the mall.

"So, where the hell are they?" She panted, wrenching open the door of the Jeep that was parked right up on the curb, its nose almost touching a fire hydrant.

"Not too far, Scott told me that they're going to that Italian place right on the outskirts of the town," Stiles told her, falling into the driver's seat. The Jeep was idling, engine still growling like a beast. "He said to head that way and look out for their car." He gunned the accelerator, and the Jeep shot forward and stalled, sending Stiles and Skyler into the dashboard. She swore in pain, rubbing her forehead with her palm and glaring furiously at Stiles. "Sorry, sorry, sorry," he muttered, restarting the car and jolting forward again. He pulled off the curb, knocking over an empty trolley as he passed, sending it flying at a woman who had to jump back to avoid having her legs swept out from under her.

"How the hell did you even pass your driver's test?" Sky snapped at him, shaking her head in disbelief.

"My dad's the Sheriff," Stiles shrugged, shooting her a sideways half-grin. "I may have suggested to the examiner that my dad wouldn't be too happy if I failed."

"You little shit," Skyler laughed. It was strange how easy it was to forget the precarious situation they were in when she was laughing with Stiles. "You do realise just how illegal that is, right?"

"Oh, like you've never done anything illegal," Stiles commented in a mocking tone.

"I actually haven't, for your information." Her voice took on a haughty tone, sending him the most condescending look she could manage. "I'm a very good girl."

"Oh, I'm sure," Stiles snorted in return, taking a sharp corner.

"Well neither of my guardians are in a position of power that I can abuse. Sadly, the Sheriff if not MY father, so I can't manipulate him." She heard a sharp intake of breath next to her as the Jeep slid around the bend. He clenched his fists tight around the wheel, twisting them back and forth as if to stop himself lashing out. "Stiles," she spoke tentatively, one hand hovering over his shoulder, ready to comfort him if he needed it. "Is everything okay?"

"Hmm?" Stiles glanced at her quickly for a second, then nodded and smiled, ridiculously unconvincingly."Fine, it's just... Look, we gotta deal with Scott's problem first."

"No, Stiles. We don't," Sky told him, letting her hand fall onto his shoulder and trailing it down to rest on his shoulder blade. "We're always dealing with Scott's problems over everyone else's, and sometimes, yes we need to, Stiles, but sometimes you have to put yourself first."

"No, it's stupid, especially compared to all the werewolf stuff that's going on right now," Stiles murmured, shoulders tensing under her hand. "Everyone had problems, but sharing them doesn't half them, it just makes the other person feel like shit too."

"Stiles, telling me what's going on with you won't make me feel like shit. Maybe I can help with whatever's going on," she ran her fingers up to his neck as she spoke, running the tips of her fingers along his collar. "Please, Stiles. I'm your friend. I want to help."

He took a deep breath, and Sky could tell that he was forcing himself to get the words out. "When I got home earlier, my dad was looking at Derek's file. He told me that they couldn't get a proper picture of him, 'cause the lens flare thing and all, but he wouldn't tell me anything. I figured that it would be better if I knew how much the Sheriff's department knew about Derek, so we could stay one step ahead, y'know. So to loosen his tongue, I gave him whiskey. A lot, a lot of whiskey," Stiles sighed and swallowed deeply, bottom lip quivering. "I got him really badly drunk, Sky. And you know, he used to have a bit of a, uh, problem with drink after my mom died. And he said that he never got to talk to me anymore, and all that, but I couldn't stay and spend time with him, 'cause Scott asked me to go and help his mom. He told me he missed me, and her. My mom. I'm a fucking terrible son."

Skyler could feel her heart tearing in two inside her chest as a single tear ran down his face, over his lips and down to the tip of his chin. She reached up a trembling hand and wiped the tear off his face, trailing a single finger up the track it had left on his face. She let her pinky rest on his jawline and spread the rest of her fingers out across his cheek. Sighing deeply, Stiles nuzzled his face into her hand and she curled her fingers slightly, pressing the pads against his warm skin.

"You are not a bad son, Stiles Stilinski. You are the best person I know," Sky whispered, closing her eyes and resting her forehead against Stiles' shoulder, hand still cupping his cheek. "You made a tough decision to help out your friends. And am I so sorry that you had to do that, but you are not a terrible son. You and your dad just need to talk. Just set some time aside for you guys and talk. Your dad loves you Stiles, and I know you love him too, but you're men and you suck at communicating. It's understandable."

He laughed quietly, sniffling and pulling away from her hand as he slid around another corner. Sky sat back in her seat, letting her hand fall off the boy's face. Stiles cleared his throat and nodded down the road in front of them. There was a dark blue, almost black car parked on the hard shoulder, halfway down the road.

"That them?" Skyler asked, trying to see any possible silhouettes through the back windscreen.

"Yeah," Stiles told her through gritted teeth. "Hold on." Stiles reached out an arm, pressing it across Sky's stomach, pressing her back into the seat. She wrapped her hands around his forearm, digging her nails in.

"Stiles what the hell are you doing?"

The Jeep shot forward, closing the distance between them and the car in front within a few seconds. Stiles' plan only really dawned on Skyler a second before they rear-ended the car that Peter and Melissa were sitting in. Sky swore furiously as she jolted forward, the only thing stopping her from slamming headfirst into the dashboard was Stiles' arm pressed tight against her but he didn't stop her head whipping forward and Sky could've sworn that she heard a crack.

"Holy shit, Stiles!" She reached one hand up to her neck, massaging it and making sure all her bones were still in place. "Little warning next time, you ass."

"Hopefully there won't have to be a next time," Stiles said forlornly, peering through the windscreen at the smoking bonnet. "Roscoe might not survive."

"We might not," she pointed out, slapping his chest with the back of her hand. He caught it with one of his, pressing her fingers down against his chest and trying to stop her trembling.

"STILES!"

"Balls," he muttered, dropping her hand and sliding out of the door. Melissa was standing on the tarmac, glaring at the boy. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but know Sky was realising that her and Stiles had just crashed into the back of the car Melissa was in with her date. It was beginning to seem like a worse and worse idea with every passing second. She tried to unbuckle her seat belt, only managing it on the fourth or fifth try due to the tremor in her hands. Even if it had been a planned car crash, she was still pretty freaked out. Pushing herself out of the Jeep, she could see Melissa advancing on Stiles as Peter climbed out of the car, shaking his head in exasperation.

"Wow, this is... This is crazy," Stiles was saying, laughing nervously and glancing behind her at Peter every few seconds. "What a coincidence, huh?"

"Hah hah," Melissa laughed back sardonically. Sky kicked the door closed behind her and hurried to stand next to Stiles, gripping the back of his shirt with on hand and wrapping the other around his bicep. Melissa caught her eye and looked at her questioningly.

"I mean, I do not know what happened," Stiles cried. "You guys just came out of nowhere!"

"Came out of nowhere?" Melissa yelled back, glaring at the two of them. "We were parked on the side of the road, Stiles."

"How crazy is that?" Stiles asked, laughing again. Peter sauntered over to them, smiling serenely. "I mean, we should probably call the cops, you know, do like an accident report thing." He directed this suggestion at Peter as he came to a halt a few feet away from them and pulled Sky closer to him, slipping an arm around her waist and squeezing her hip.

"I don't think that's necessary," Peter interrupted smoothly, appraising the damage on the cars. It was more than likely that he had stolen the car and didn't want the insurance company finding out.

"Are you sure?" He lifted a hand and jabbed the back of Skyler's neck. She hissed in pain and slapped his hand away. "I think Sky got a bit of whiplash."

"Whiplash?" Melissa exclaimed, glaring first at Stiles and then at Sky who was rubbing her neck, trying to lessen the ache that was residing there. "You hit us!"

"I don't know," Skyler piped up, massaging her neck with one hand. "There's definitely something wrong with my neck. I heard a crack. Maybe I should go to the hospital."

"There's no need," Melissa snapped, waving a hand, "I'd be able to tell if there was anything seriously wrong."

"Ah! It's really starting to hurt now..."

"Look, the girl's obviously in quite a bit of pain," Peter pointed out cordially, "Maybe it would be a good idea for you to go with her. We can always just take a rain check."

"Are you sure that that would be alright?" Melissa asked worriedly, turning to face Peter. He looked over the woman's shoulder at Sky and she groaned dramatically in pain.

"Sure, wouldn't want the poor dear to get hurt," Peter leaned forward, pressing his lips against Melissa's cheek. Sky felt Stiles shudder in disgust and press her closer. She was sure that they're would be bruises left on her waist in the morning.

"Goodnight," Melissa whispered to him, and moved away from Peter, grabbing Stiles' arm roughly and hauling him to the Jeep, leaving Skyler standing on her own, facing down the Alpha. Derek's uncle smirked at her, eyes scanning her face for any sign of weakness.

"Nice try kid, but you can't get rid of me that easily," he told her, one side of his mouth quirking up.

"Stay. The fuck. Away. From. Melissa."

"But she's such an attractive bargaining chip," Peter pretended to consider for a second, then shook his head. "I think I'll keep her around a bit longer."

"I swear to God, if you hurt her in any way..." Skyler threatened emptily, trying to hide the shake in her voice.

"What are you and Stilinski and McCall going to do? Hmm?" Peter asked laughingly. "There's nothing you can do. Like I told Scott, you'd be so much better off to join me now. Join the winning team. You have potential, Sky. You'd make a fine werewolf."

"I would rather die than join you," Skyler spat back. She wasn't sure if that was a hundred percent true, but it sounded impressive. "And you tell Derek that he had better think hard about which side he's on, 'cause if he's with you, he's against us."

"I'm not my nephew's keeper," Peter replied coolly, but if Sky didn't know better she would've sworn that a flicker of worry crossed his face. But Peter was a sociopath, he didn't truly care for Derek, whether or not they were family. Now if Derek could see that too, everything would be great.

"Skyler!" Melissa screamed from the window of the Jeep, which she was sticking her head out of.

"Go on, little girl, run away," Peter's smirk softened to a gentle smile as he raised one hand to wave at Melissa. "I might go and visit the Sheriff now. Granted , he's not as easy on the eye as Melissa, but as leverage goes..."

Skyler started to back towards the Jeep, narrowing her eyes but keeping them locked on Peter. "You touch one hair on the Sheriff's head and, werewolf or no, I will tear your fucking throat out with my bare hands."

He waved one more time and climbed back into the driver's seat of the car that he had more than likely stolen. Sky turned and scurried back to the Jeep, pulling herself into the passenger seat as Melissa pushed over to make room. She was now pressed between the door and a very angry Ms McCall. Stiles laughed nervously as he stalled the Jeep and she felt Melissa tense next to her and saw the woman's jaw clench. Sky cheered awkwardly as Stiles finally pulled out onto the road, trying to lighten the mood, but she only managed to make the silence heavier. After several insufferable minutes of silence and exchanged glances with Stiles, Sky breathed in deeply and attempted to start a conversation.

"So-"

"Did Scott put you up to this?!"

Neither of the two teens were expecting the anger or sadness in Melissa's voice.

"Uh, no," Sky shook her head vigourously. She was lying, Scott had put them up to it, but it was to save Melissa, not ruin her dating prospects. "No, he didn't."

"We really had no idea that it was you on the side of the road when you just popped up out of the blue," Stiles added.

"We did not pop up!" Melissa snapped. "We were parked there." She took a deep breath, calming herself down for a few seconds and then spoke quietly, keeping her eyes on the dashboard. "If Scott really hated the idea of me dating again, he could've just told me."

Skyler and Stiles had absolutely no idea how to respond to that statement. Sky bit her lip and rested her hand over Melissa's, trying to pat it comfortingly.

"I promise, Scott didn't ask us to do anything. He doesn't have a problem with you dating, all he wants is for you to be happy," she told the woman as earnestly as she could. Melissa shook her head a few times and then glanced up at Sky.

"What the hell were you two doing out here anyway?"

"I was dropping Skyler home," Stiles blurted out and Sky thought back to the night of the full moon, when Stiles' father had asked them that same question. Stiles' answer had been the exact same on that night, even though they were in the complete wrong direction to be heading to Skyler's. Just like they were now.

"Why are you this side of town? Skyler, don't you live on Hillcrest?" Melissa asked disbelievingly .

"I was shopping around here, Stiles picked me up and he was going to drive me home, then we met you guys," Sky added, hoping to make the obviously bullshit story more believable.

"Ohhh," Melissa nodded in understanding, glancing between Sky and Stiles, starting to look very uncomfortable. "You two were... Well, just tell me that you two were safe."

"Oh, for fu..." Sky started, eyes blazing. "We were NOT having sex!" Stiles and Melissa stared in shock at her after the sudden outburst. "Why does everyone always think..."

"I just assumed that you two..." Melissa shrugged, not quite knowing what to say.

"Well we're not," Sky told her firmly.

"What were you shopping for then?" Melissa asked, still looking unconvinced.

"A dress for the Winter Formal," she said grumpily.

"How nice. Have you picked one yet? Going with a colour scheme or a theme?" Melissa smiled at her, and Sky got the feeling that as much as Ms McCall loved Scott, she also liked being able to talk to a girl about these sorts of things.

"I picked out a few, haven't decided on just one yet, but they're nearly all black or white," Sky admitted, indulging Melissa.

"Are you two going to match?"

"Oh, we're not, uh, we're not going together," Stiles pointed out, scratching his head.

"Ah."

"Yeah," Sky murmured, wishing that they would all just stop talking. She would take awkward silence over awkward conversation any day.

"Who are you going with?" Sky fought the urge to roll her eyes and groan. Was Melissa trying to punish her with the continuous questions, or was she truly curious?

"Uh, Zach. He's on the lacrosse team with Scott and Stiles," Sky looked out the window, playing with the string on her hoodie.

"Oh, and what about you Stiles?"

"Oh, look, we're here," Stiles called out as he pulled into the McCall's driveway. "Night Melissa."

"Wait just a minute," Melissa placed her hand on Sky's neck and twisted it this way and that. "Now, what's wrong with your neck?"

"Oh," Sky screwed up her face in thought. "It feels so much better now."

Melissa sighed in disappointment, shaking her head at the girl. It was obvious that Sky was lying through her teeth. She opened the door and climbed out, allowing Scott's mom to slide out after her. She looked sadly at Sky, hovering outside the Jeep, and Stiles, still sitting behind the wheel of the car.

"If you see Scott, please tell him to call me," she whispered, and walked slowly up to the house.

Skyler didn't move until she had gone through the door, then climbed back into the Jeep. She sighed, resting back against the seat and rubbing her hands over her face. "I feel like the worst piece of shit to ever crawl the earth," she mumbled.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Stiles scoffed back, pulling back out onto the road. "So, is Zach going to get a matching tie?"

"Oh, shut up," Sky pushed him, laughing slightly and pushing his shoulder. "Who are you going with, anyway?"

"I, uh, well, I don't actually know yet," Stiles replied, trying to avoid meeting her eye.

"Well," Sky was uncertain how to continue. She hadn't thought about the fact that if she wasn't going to be Stiles' date, and neither was Lydia, that he would have to find someone else to go with. "There is this girl, Erica, in my history class and she's absolutely great, but she's really quiet so no one ever notices her, but I think you'd really like her."

"I don't know," Stiles shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I don't really know her, and I mean, I just thought that..."

"What?" She asked, glaring at him suspiciously.

"Well, I just thought that..." he took a deep breath, face flushing red.

"Seriously Stilinski, spit it out," Sky teased, poking him in the side.

"I thought that you and I were gonna go together."

"Oh," she whispered.

"I just, I didn't think you'd want to go with me," he blurted out. "And I also didn't think Lydia would want to go with me, but I was really very drunk when I called you that night."

"Yeah, I remember," Sky spat bitterly, crossing her arms at the memory of that night.

"I'm sorry, I was meant to be explaining myself, and I keep putting my foot in it," Stiles groaned. "Look, when I called that night, it was with every intention of asking you to the Formal, but I figured that you didn't want to go with me, and even if you did and we had a horrible time, then we could never even look at each other again, and I would hate that."

"You were going to ask me to the Formal?" Sky was watching her hands intently, afraid that if she looked up at Stiles, he would see something in her eyes that would betray the inner turmoil that she was feeling.

"Yeah, friends do that kind of stuff all the time, right?"

And there it was. That dreaded word. Friend. She had been friend-zoned, and now she knew why so many guys complained about it, because it fucking sucked. She pulled her legs up under her and leaned against the window, trying her hardest not to cry.

"Sky? Are you okay?" Stiles reached out putting a hand on her shoulder. She shook him off and wiped her nose on her sleeve, trying not to betray what she was feeling.

"Fine, just tired. Been kind of a long day, y'know?" She tucked her arm into the crook of her elbow and closed her eyes.

"Okay," Stiles sounded disheartened, but dropped the subject, letting them sit in silence until he reached her house.

Sky climbed out of the Jeep, deciding not to hug Stiles as she usually did. She wasn't feeling the most generous or loving at that particular moment. She was halfway up the drive, shivering in night air when she glanced over her shoulder at the Jeep. Stiles was sitting behind the wheel, still watching her walk away. She hesitated for a moment before jogging back down to the window and knocking. He rolled it down, sliding over on the seat and poking his head out to talk to her.

"I would've gone with you, if you'd asked. Y'know, to the Formal," she told him, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Even if we had had the most awful time ever, and you got really drunk and threw up on me and I crashed the Jeep and we never spoke again. I still would've gone."

"Next time?" He asked lightly, smiling at her, his button nose scrunching up and his dimples popping up on his cheeks.

"Next time," Sky told him and leaned forward, placing a lingering kiss on his cheek, pressing against his warm skin. She pulled back, grinning at his dazed expression. "See ya later, friend," she told him, punching him on the arm.

"Friend," he muttered, rubbing his arm where she had hit him, a dopey smile spreading across his face. Skyler shot him one more smile, then turned and ran up to the front door, looking back one more time as Stiles pulled away from the curb, stalling the Jeep and almost knocking her next door neighbour's post box right over. She laughed as he drove away before unlocking the door, letting herself in and kicking it shut behind her, leaving all the werewolf bullshit outside, just for one night.


	20. Peter Is A Creeper

_**Hey, it's been ages, as usual, and I apologise, but hopefully this chapter makes up for it. I've put the links for Sky's hair, shoes, dress and necklace at the end of the chapter. So enjoy, and please review, 'cause I love it when you guys say such beautiful things about the story Xx**_

"What the hell is wrong with you, Argent?" Skyler asked, pulling at a thread on her ripped jeans.

She regretted not just wearing a pair of sweat pants. The winter was really drawing in, the mornings and nights growing ever darker and the cold and ice spreading throughout the town. Sky was tucked inside a large knitted Aztec patterned sweater and impractical high heeled ankle boots. She had already slipped on the ice three times, and had managed to bring Lydia down with her once. Her hair had been tossed into a nest by the wind and her cheeks were red and stinging from the cold. But that wasn't her biggest problem. No, her problem was that Derek was missing again, and not in the way that his uncle was missing. Peter kept popping up all over the place, usually at the worst time possible, but Derek was AWOL. He had reached out to Skyler several times after joining forces with his uncle, but it had stopped quite suddenly and without explanation, Scott wasn't able to find him anymore, his scent seemed to have completely disappeared from Beacon Hills, and it was worrying Sky. To add to her problems, the Formal was only two days away.

"Nothing's wrong," Allison mumbled, leaning against the side of the escalator as they rode it up to Macy's. "I just... I have a lot on my mind."

"Such as?" Allison shot a venomous look at Sky, she hadn't forgiven the girl yet for kissing Scott.

"You could smile, at least," Lydia smirked, crossing her legs. "Ever heard of the saying, 'Never frown. Someone could be falling in love with your smile?' Smile, Allison. I'm buying you a dress." It was Lydia's slightly misguided way of trying to make it up to Allison for kissing her ex-boyfriend, she didn't seem to comprehend that not everyone would feel better after a heartbreak if they were simply bought something sparkly.

"Have to admit that as far as apologies go, it's more than I expected," Allison admitted, refusing to look at either of them.

"Excellent," Lydia grinned, seeming pleased that her efforts were being appreciated, but Sky could tell that there was something else coming. And she was right.

"But not as much as I'm gonna ask."

"What?" Lydia's head snapped up, peering at Allison. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Why am I not being made to do something stupid and pointless as an apology?" Sky wondered aloud, not quite sure she wanted to know the answer. She had the feeling that her apology-punishment was coming soon enough. Allison sent her another scathing look and turned back to Lydia. "Or ignore me, whatever."

"It means, you're going to cancel on whatever dumb, roided-up jock you said 'yes' to, and go with someone else," Allison explained, wearing an incredibly self-satisfied grin.

"Who?" Lydia asked dubiously as they stepped out on the second floor. Sky pulled her arms in tight, tucking them inside her sweater. She was starting to feel highly uncomfortable with where this conversation was going.

"Him." Allison jabbed a finger towards Macy's where Stiles stood, smelling a pink bottle of perfume. He squeezed the spritzer suddenly, spraying himself in the face and coughing wildly, shaking his head like a dog. Her stomach dropped like she had just looped the loop on a roller coaster. This is why she wasn't having to do something stupid and humiliating to make it up to Allison, because Lydia's punishment was her's too. This was her punishment, watching Stiles go to the Formal with the girl he had been in love with since third grade.

"Don't frown Lydia, someone could be falling in love with your smile," Allison smirked over her shoulder, sauntering towards Macy's. Allison's smile wouldn't be so alluring when Skyler sucker-punched her in the face. Lydia trailed after the dark-haired girl, but paused as she realised that Sky was still standing at the top of the escalator.

"Sky? Sky, are you alright?" She called, wandering back over and placing a hand on Skyler's shoulder.

"I'm fine," she lied lightly, trying to ignore the lump in her throat and brushing Lydia's hand off her. She looked up to see Stiles still rubbing his nose, with Allison standing next to him, smiling to herself. Sky was not going to give her the satisfaction of showing her just how much it was hurting her right now. She slid her arm through Lydia's and strode over towards the two still hovering in front of the perfume counter.

"Alright, Stiles?" Sky grinned at him, ignoring Allison's superior look. He smiled sheepishly back at her, placing the glass bottle back onto the counter.

"Heeeey," he waved awkwardly, nearly knocking over a perfume display with his elbow. Allison gave the two girls one parting smirk and walked towards customer service, where they had left their reserved dresses. Lydia detached herself from Skyler and followed the girl, looking over her shoulder at Sky and Stiles as she went.

"So, you're going to the Formal with Lydia then?" Sky jabbed him in the side with her index finger, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"Yeah, well, I guess, y'know, if she doesn't take a look at me and run screaming," Stiles laughed nervously, rubbing a hand over his head. "It was weird, Allison just called me and asked if I wanted to go to the Formal with Lydia, and I said yes, obviously, and then she said to meet you guys here." He shrugged nonchalantly, but Sky could see that he was trying very hard to stop himself from bouncing around the store in excitement. "I mean, I don't know why she'd want to go with me, but maybe she's starting to see me for who I am."

"Mmm, maybe," she agreed, nodding vaguely. Stiles evidently didn't know that Lydia was only attending the dance with him as a punishment, and she had no intention of bursting that particular happy bubble. "So now we all have dates."

"Except for Scott," Stiles corrected, snorting a bit. "Who's technically banned from the dance because of his grades."

"I assume he's still going to keep an eye on Allison," Sky replied, leaning against the perfume counter.

"Yup, he's cycling there in a second hand suit, climbing onto the roof and entering the building through an emergency exit door," Stiles explained his friend's plan with a delighted grin.

"Sounds fun," she laughed as Lydia brushed past her, dumping an armful of dresses in Stiles' arms and spun on her heel, marching off towards the dressing room.

"Oh, okay, so are you just gonna try these on right now? All of them?" Stiles called after her, looking worried, then stared at Skyler in terror. "Is this a 24 hour Macy's?"

"Amazingly, yes. Now go," Sky laughed, pushing him after her.

She watched him go, wearing a fond smile. Even if she wasn't going to go to the Formal with him, she was glad that he was going with Lydia. And at least Lydia was going with someone that would treat her the way she deserved to be treated. Sighing, she rubbed her face and headed to the customer service, collecting the five dresses she had on hold. She had a momentary twinge of jealousy as she struggled to keep the layers of lace and satin under control, thinking of Lydia having Stiles to carry all her dresses for her. As she was making her way towards the changing room, the dress on top of the pile caught on a hanger, pulling it over her head. She twisted around in confusion, trying to pull the dress off of her. She stumbled backwards, colliding with someone behind her.

"Shit, sorry," she mumbled, hauling the dress off her head. "Oh, it's just you Allison. And..." Standing behind her friend, holding up a dress was Peter Hale. The werewolf smiled demurely at her as her eyes widened in shock and she let go of the dresses with one hand, trying to find an empty coat hanger to throw at him. "What's he doing here?" She hissed, glaring at Peter.

"He was suggesting dresses for me," Allison seemed confused, eyes dancing between Skyler and Peter. "Do you two know each other?"

"We've met," Peter nodded at Allison, then turned back to Sky, nodding at her. "Good to see you again, Ms Gray."

Skyler practically snarled at him, making Allison jump in fright and Peter laugh in amusement. The crazier Sky seemed, the more trustworthy it made Peter look. "He, uh, he went on a date with Scott's mom. It didn't end well," she snapped, gripping the hanger a little tighter.

"As I recall, that is due to you and Mr Stilinski rear-ending my car," he chuckled like it was the memory of the crash was a fond recollection, then turned his attention back to Allison. "Anyway, as I was saying, that colour is much too dark for your skin tone."

"I'm sorry, do you work here?" Sky snapped at Peter, pushing in front of her friend.

"Not at the moment, no," Peter admitted, and Skyler saw the first crack in his otherwise perfect facade. His top lip twitched slightly, it was so gentle that she wasn't quite sure whether or not she was imagining it.

"Then you are being super pervy and need to back off before I stab or tase you," Sky growled, stepping towards him as Ally placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Attention shoppers. To the owner of a blue Mazda, license plate-"

"Did she just say a blue Mazda?" Allison exclaimed, letting her hand fall away from Skyler.

"-5768, your car is being towed."

"Oh!" Allison shrieked, looking in the direction of the parking lot. "That's my car!"

"Go," Sky insisted, pushing her gently in the direction of the exit of the mall. "Now!" Allison hesitated for a few seconds, glancing nervously at Peter before darting off through the racks.

"I have to say, Scott, I continue to be impressed with your ingenuity. Just remember, you can't be everywhere all the time," Peter muttered under his breath, never taking his eyes away from Sky.

"Scott?" Her eyes searched the store, trying to catch sight of the boy.

"Oh, yes, Scott's crouched underneath one of these infernal displays," Peter waved a hand, smirking viciously. All pretense of kindliness disappeared now that Allison had disappeared. "Looking after Miss Argent, and of course, Mr Stilinski is here, taking care of your lovely friend... Lydia? Is that her name?"

"I won't let you anywhere near any of them, Hale," Sky warned, jabbing the coat hanger in his face.

"Well, I can't get near the huntress or your dear friend Lydia. And d'you know why? Because they are protected," Peter laughed sharply. "For a human, Mr Stilinski is remarkably brave, protecting that young girl that he loves. And of course, poor smitten Scott McCall, desperately in love and willing to do anything to protect his girl. I can't touch them, but you..."

"What about me?" She snarled, sounding a hell of a lot braver than she felt.

"Who's here to protect you? Scott couldn't care less, and Stiles, that you hold so dear, well... You will always be his second choice," Peter smiled condescendingly at her and she remembered the words that Scott had spoken on the day of the full moon, when he told her that she would never be enough for Stiles. "And they leave you time after time to fend for yourself. And you're telling me that that doesn't bother you?"

"I don't need a man to take care of me," Sky spat, poking the coat hanger into his chest as hard as she could. "I can look after myself."

"She says from beneath a mountain of pink and white lace," Peter gave her an almost pitying look.

"I'll fucking choke you with it if you're not careful," she threatened.

"I like you." It was the most surprising thing Peter had said to her so far.

"You..."

"Like you, yes," he reiterated. "You're brave, smart, maybe a little too impulsive and emotional at times, but over all, you're a very worthy candidate."

"For what?" She asked apprehensively, barely resisting the urge to punch Peter in his stupid smirking face.

"For the bite," Peter drawled, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "To become one of us."

"To become," Sky repeated, unsure if she had heard him right, "A werewolf."

Peter nodded and his arm darted out and snatched her wrist, twisting it painfully until she dropped the coat hanger. She gasped in pain as he raised her arm towards his mouth, palm facing up. He paused, her wrist an inch or two away from his bared teeth.

"Just say the word, and you can be so much more," Peter breathed out. If Sky didn't know anything about him or who he was, then she would've been tempted, heavily so. As evil as he was, Peter had all charm and charisma that seemed to be lacking in his nephew. If he really wanted, he could probably start up a cult. "So much more than human. So much more than what you are now."

"I don't... I can't..." No matter how hard she tried though, she couldn't find a concrete reason to say no aside from the fact that she may turn out evil. Or die. "I don't want the bite."

"You're lying," he chuckled softly, and she shivered in fear as she felt his breath fan across her wrist.

"Okay, so maybe I am," Skyler admitted grudgingly, realising that it would be fruitless to lie to someone who could hear her heart stutter as she bullshitted. "But I don't want to turn out like you and Derek. I don't want to be a murderer."

"D'you want to finally stop coming second to every other person in your life? You're no one's first choice. Aside from mine," he smiled sweetly at her, like he was doing her a huge favour. "That night in the preserve when I bit Scott, it could've been anyone, but you, I'm choosing you."

"I don't want to be YOUR chosen," she hissed, trying to tug her wrist out of his grasp. That part was at least true, she wouldn't mind being Scott's chosen one or even Derek's, but the idea of being chosen by Peter sickened her to her core.

"Don't you want to be faster? Better? Scott doesn't seem to understand the magnitude of the gift that he has been given," Peter sighed in irritation. "I want him in the pack, but he is not living up to his full potential. You could definitely make the most of this magnificent opportunity. You could be happy. You could be smarter than Lydia, prettier, funnier, stronger, faster, more than her. Finally get the guy. You could make Stiles fall in love with you."

"Get the fuck off of me," Sky snapped, trying again to rip her hand out of Peter's grasp. Her skin was starting to ache, and she could feel herself bruising under his grip. "My life is none of your business. I don't need your gift to be happy." A sickened feeling was starting to creep up her throat as she realised that she had been considering the offer. Her mind had been mulling over the possibilities of what could happen if she made the split second decision to let Peter sink his teeth into her skin. Maybe she would be better, stronger, smarter, more beautiful. But she would also be hunted by the family of one of her closest friends there was a fifty percent chance that the bite wouldn't take and that she would die. There was also the added bonus of going insane on the full moon, trying to kill your friends, finding your anchor and the apparent uncontrollable anger. She didn't want that life. She was telling the truth when she said she was happy as she was.

"I'm offering you something that very few people will ever get the chance to even consider," Peter snarled, charming demeanour slipping away. He tugged her closer until there was barely an inch between them. His fingers contracted around her wrist, and whimpered in pain as she was sure she felt one of the bones crack. "I'd think very carefully before-"

"Ma'am, is this man bothering you?" Sky glanced over Peter's shoulder, and he whipped his head around to see a mall security guard standing a few feet behind them, watching Peter intently, and behind him was Stiles, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot.

"Yes. Yes, he's been following me and harassing me and now he won't let go of me," Sky put on her best panicked young girl voice, wriggling her arm for extra dramatic effect.

The gaurd glowered at Peter and huffed, stepping forwards to take hold of his shoulder. "Sir, I'll have to ask you to-"

"I'm going," he sneered, dropping Sky's arm. Stiles skirted around the guard, whose hand was still hovering over the werewolf's shoulder, then edged past Peter, rushing to Sky as she cradled her wrist. Peter glared over at her once more. "Consider it. The offer doesn't stand forever, and it would be prudent to decide soon. I hope to see you soon, Mr Stilinski." He nodded at Stiles and turned, sending a charming smile to the guard before moving gracefully out of sight. It was only then that Sky realised just how badly she was shaking as Stiles took hold of her wrist, rubbing small circles on the bruised skin.

"Are you alright now, miss?" The security man asked, giving her a gentle smile. "Your boyfriend was very worried about you."

"Oh, he's not my..." Sky trailed off as Stiles flung his arm around her shoulders.

"Thanks man," Stiles told the guard, squeezing her tight and nodding at the man. "That guy's been seen around a lot lately. Y'know, being creepy and stuff, you should probably keep an eye on him. To make sure that he stops being creepy."

"Right, I'll keep a look out," the man watched Stiles burble on skeptically then set off in the direction that Peter had disappeared in.

"Are you okay? I saw you two and I had to get to the security guard," Stiles demanded, the second the guard was out of sight, gripping her by the shoulders and spinning her round to face him. "What did he do to you?"

"Nothing, I'm fine, he just wanted to talk Stiles, I promise." She grabbed his hands, pulling them off of her and moving them down until they were hanging by his side, still gripping hers.

"Well what did he want to talk about?" Stiles was biting his lip so hard, Sky was sure he was going to break the skin. "Because that really didn't look friendly."

"He made me an offer," Skyler mumbled, trying to avoid explaining exactly what Peter had been prepared to give her. She wasn't quite sure why, but she felt ashamed that Peter had liked her, that Peter had chosen her to become the newest member of his pack.

"What was the offer?"

"He was willing to give me the bite," she muttered, feeling his hands clench over hers.

"He... He what?!" He hissed, his voice was coldly furious, and a touch scared. "What did you say?"

"Well no, obviously," she rolled her eyes, trying to get him to relax. "Do I look like I have a bite mark on me?"

"Okay. Alright," Stiles nodded slowly, thinking the situation over. "Did you want to?"

"Did I want to...?"

"Did you want the bite?" He asked, watching her intently.

"Stiles, of course I didn't want the bite. I said no, didn't I?" Skyler laughed, squeezing his fingers.

"But did you consider it?"

"Well, I thought about it, yeah," she told him, avoiding his eyes. "I mean, how could you not?"

"I never thought you'd want that," Stiles murmured, and Sky was surprised at the hurt in his voice.

"I wasn't going to, I just thought about it." She was confused at what he was getting at now. "Stiles, what's wrong?"

"When Scott became a werewolf, he moved up in the world I guess, and I just stayed...me." Stiles shrugged, trying to hide the pain in his eyes. "And if that happened to you too, I'd be on my own again. I'd be just me, pathetically human me."

"Hey, hey," Sky raised her hands grasping the sides of his face and raising it so that they could look each other in the eye. "I would never leave you. I never will. It was just a thought, but I don't want to be one of them. I want to be me. Even if we are pathetically human, that's me and it's what I'm happy with." She pressed her forehead to his and breathed in, keeping hold of his face and remembering the almost identical position they had been in when they were locked in Mr Harris' chemistry room. "You and me, two pathetic humans against the world." She reached up to his neck, hugging him to her and listening to him laugh. It had been two days since she had hugged Stiles, and it was way too long.

"It's okay, they didn't tow my... I am interrupting something?"

Sky wanted to scream at Allison and possibly throw a dress at her, but instead, she breathed in deeply and smiled. "No, Allison. Nothing at all," she drawled, trying not to sound too sarcastic. "Good thing your car didn't towed." The girl nodded in agreement and fell quiet, leaving the three of them in a horribly uncomfortable silence.

"Riiiiight," Stiles drew out, rocking on the balls of his feet. "I should probably go and help Lydia. Well, hold her dresses as she gets changed." He smiled thinly and wandered off, knocking over a display of lipsticks as he went. Chuckling nervously, he grinned at them as he crouched down and gathered them in his arms, dumping them on the skewed plastic shelf, then walking away again, this time without knocking anything over.

"Was I actually interrupting-"

"Yes, Allison, you actually were," Sky snapped, running her free hand through her hair. "But it's not like you give a flying fuck."

"Sky, I didn't think..." She murmured, at least having the decency to look ashamed.

"What? You didn't think about how much this would hurt me?" She spat back, glaring at the girl. "'Cause I think you did, and I think that's why I haven't had to grovel to you, because this punishment is as much mine as Lydia's."

"I really didn't think that it'd hurt you this much," Allison rubbed her hands on her thighs, blinking back the tears that were collecting in her eyes. Sky wanted to smack her for it. How dare Allison be upset with her?! "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, yeah, of course you are," Sky waved a hand at her, before pinching the bridge of her nose and breathing in. "I'm not gonna argue with you about this, I need to go try on the dresses, so go cry to someone else please." She turned her heel and strode away to the changing room. She dumped the dresses on the seat next to Stiles and kicked him in the shin.

"Ah," he moaned quietly, rubbing his leg and glaring at her. "What was that for?"

"I felt like it," Sky grinned, flopping down on the seat the other side of him and leaning to untie the laces of her boots.

"W-w-what are you doing?" Stiles gaped at her, covering his eyes with one hand.

"Oh, relax, it's not like I'm whipping off my panties," Skyler laughed at the expression on his face, kicking one shoe off. "It's just easier to remove my pants without shoes on." He didn't seem to hear her and just clapped his other hand on top of his other, blocking out any possibility of seeing her without any article of clothing. "I'm gonna and try on my dresses now, you may be needed to zip me up in a minute. Is that okay?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"No," he replied, shaking his head vigourously.

Sighing, Sky pushed past the heavy curtain into one of the cubicles and hung up the dresses, deciding which one she would try first. The lacy pink dress had seemed nice when she had found it the other day, but now the layers of taffeta and the bodice made her look like Little Bo Peep. That one was a definite no, anyway. The second dress was marginally better. Marginally. It was very white and very loose and looked like the sail of a boat. So that was also a no. The third was a yes, until she noticed the two slits up either side of the skirt, almost to the hip so that whenever she moved her panties were very obviously visible. Skyler couldn't even fit herself into the fourth. No one had hips that size, and having breasts of any size made it impossible to wriggle herself into the bust.

It had taken nearly twenty five minutes to get herself in and out of the four dresses, and she had had to sit on the ground for few minutes and let her frustration out by angrily hitting the mirror with a coat hanger until Stiles poked her head through the curtain to make sure she was okay, then shrieked and retreated once he was her on the floor in her bra and panties.

Once she had worked up the energy to stand again, she was close to tears. It had been a long day, the Lydia-Allison-Stiles debacle was weighing heavily on her mind, and if the last dress didn't fit, she was screwed. She took a few deep breaths, mentally preparing herself, then laughing at her own ridiculousness before stepping into the dress and pulling it up around her by the bodice, sliding it up until it rested comfortably around her breasts, fitting just tight enough to hold itself up. She jumped slightly, punching the air with a laugh.

"It fits!" She yelled to Lydia, two cubicles over and the girl cheered in return.

"I thought we were going to have to be here all day and all night," Lydia called, and Sky could hear a swooshing sound as the girl spun around in her dress.

"Can I see it?" Stiles asked timidly, his hand appearing around the edge of the curtain.

"No!" Sky shrieked, slapping his hand away. He jumped back and squeaked in fright. "You can't see it until the night of the Formal!"

"What? Why not?" He whined, nearly crying from boredom.

"Because I said so, now shut up," she laughed back, turning to her left and right, making sure the dress flattered her from every angle. Miraculously, it did. Sky felt so good in the dress that she was reluctant to skip out of it and redress herself in her jeans, baggy tank and sweater. When she left the cubicle, she made sure that her chosen dress was tucked in the middle of the other four, hiding it from Stiles' prying eyes. He was sitting on his ground, back against one of the square cushion seats, legs splayed across the floor. She had never seen anyone look so empty eyed in her entire life.

"You alright?" She asked, laying her dresses out on the seat and dropping to the floor next to Stiles.

"This is so boring..." He whispered, barely able to keep his eyes open. "Lydia's on her fourteenth dress. I've seen more lace this day than I ever wanted or expected to see in my lifetime."

"So being Lydia Martin's date to the Formal isn't all it's cracked up to be, then?" Sky grinned as Stiles reached down, pulling at the cuff of the watermelon socks he had bought her a few weeks ago.

"Well, maybe not this bit anyway," Stiles admitted. "I expected more passionate kissing and declarations of undying love. And smoothies."

"Smoothies?"

"I don't know, I just really a smoothie right now," he shrugged, head lolling to one side so that he could look at her.

"Well we can go and get one now, Giles, because I'm done now," Lydia breezed out of the changing room opposite and threw her armful of dresses at Stiles, holding a pale pink dress in her hands. "Where's Allison?"

"I neither know, nor care," Skyler sniffed, pulling on her discarded boots.

"Are you going to keep up this attitude with her for long?" Lydia sighed, raising an eyebrow and staring down at her. "I thought you would be the bigger person here and apologise to her." Stiles' eyes flickered between them as he clambered to his feet with the dresses still under her arm, evidently wondering why Sky had an attitude with Allison. Well he could wonder all he wanted, because none of the girls were willing to tell him.

"She can apologise to me," Sky huffed, gripping Stiles' hand and pulling herself up. "I'm sick of being the one to let things go with her."

"Well one of you better pull your head out of your ass soon and make up. How are we meant to have a girls night when my girls aren't talking?" Lydia rolled her eyes and strolled out of the changing rooms, throwing a irritated beckoning look over her shoulder at Stiles.

"What should I, uh..." Stiles held the dresses up, his arms shaking with the weight of the fabric.

"Oh just leave them here," Sky waved a hand at the seat which her rejected choices, pulling her chosen dress out of the pile and folding it up quickly, tucking it behind her back.

"Can I really not just see the dress?" Stiles complained at her, trying to place the dresses on the seat but ending up just dropping them all over the floor.

"No, you may not," she told him, backing out of the changing room and smirking at him. "You'll have to wait another few days and then you can appreciate me in my full beauty. Now go and carry Lydia's bags for her, monkey."

"Screw you, Gray," he called after her as she skipped to the counter to buy her dress. She was much too caught up in thoughts of whether or not her shoes would go with the dress and how she would do her hair to notice Peter watching her from across the store, eyes flashing red.

* * *

"Ow, ow, ow! Lydia, be careful for Christ's sake!"

She was sure that at this point that there were at least four bobby pins stuck into her head. Skyler had already straightened Lydia's hair and gently curled the ends, now the girl was braiding her hair in a complicated updo that involved jabbing her with pins until Sky was sure that she was bleeding.

"Stop complaining, you absolute child," Lydia scolded, jerking her friend's head to the right. They were sitting in front of Lydia's vanity, getting ready for the Winter Formal. Allison had left twenty minutes ago, deciding that it was better to have Jackson pick her up when Lydia wasn't present. "And for Christ's sake, hold still."

"Then stop hurting me," Skyler complained, wriggling her shoulders.

"I'm trying to make your hair pretty, dearie," Lydia told her gently, trying to keep from snapping at the girl.

"I wanted to leave it down, it was your idea to put it up all fancy like," she grumbled, pulling the towel down over her thighs.

"You can't just 'leave it down'," Lydia mocked her, twisting one of the plaits upwards and tucking it into the bottom of the bun, shoving a flower clip roughly into her hair to keep it in place. All in all, her hair had taken nearly an hour to style, and she wasn't even dressed yet. Her makeup was finished, foundation, minimal blush, eyeliner, a bare coat of mascara and baby pink lipstick. Minimal makeup was the one condition that Skyler had insisted upon. She had point blank refused to wear any jewelry other than the necklace that Stiles had bought for her, and even then she had refused to tell Lydia where she had got it.

Lydia was ready to walk out the door, and had been since she started styling Skyler's hair. Her dress was almost silk, a pale silvery-pink with a black sash running across the middle, decorated with a little black flower to one side, a small silver bracelet and a chunky black beaded necklace. Her entire outfit matched and Sky had to admire her determination to look coordinated in every occasion. Sky, on the other hand, was just lucky that her favourite heels just happened to be the same colour as her dress.

"Now, you're all pretty and nice," Lydia smiled down at her, admiring her handiwork. "And you can get dressed, the boys are going to be here soon." She glanced at the clock and shrieked when she caught sight of the time. "Oh no, we only have twenty minutes! Hurry up!" She scurried into the bathroom, nearly tripping in her heels.

"If we had gone with my original plan, I would've been finished three quarters of an hour ago, but no..." Sky called after her. She had to admit that her hair was beautiful. It was divided into several plaits, then curled and twisted into a messy bun. Walking over to the bed where her underwear, strapless bra and dress were laid out, she dropped her towel, sliding on the black panties. She had treated herself to a shopping spree at Victoria's Secret a few days ago with Lydia, and felt like this was an appropriate occasion to try them out. The bra fitted comfortably and hopefully wouldn't be visible above the low line of her dress. She stepped into the dress one foot at a time, pulling it up by the sides until it was sitting in a comfortable position around her.

Skyler moved to the mirror, inspecting herself. The dress was beautiful, the bodice was tight to her every curve, and thankfully her chest was able to hold it up without straps. The top half was decorated with a swirling pattern of diamonds which faded out as it moved down into the knee-length lace skirt. It was never Sky's dream to be a princess, unless it was Mulan, but she felt practically regal as she spun around in front of the mirror, watching the skirt flare out around her, and it felt awesome.

"Knock it off!" Lydia screamed at her, running back into the room. "We have ten minutes! Ten!"

"And all I have to do is put on my shoes," Sky replied, slowing to a stop and smiling at Lydia.

"And pack your purse, and make sure that you've planned your entrance for when the boys get here," she instructed, darting around the room, picking up her clutch and pausing for a few seconds to check herself in the mirror. "Oh, good Lord! You haven't even got socks on! You are so woefully unpre- They're here!"

"Holy shit!" Sky jumped at Lydia's sudden scream, hurrying out of the girl's way as she dashed to the window to see a black BMW pulling into the drive behind Stiles' familiar blue Jeep. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"They're early. I need to go and practice my entrance," she whispered, horrorstruck at how punctual the boys managed to be. She cocked her head as the sound of footsteps came up the driveway, accompanied by the sounds of Rebecca and Natalie moving into the hallway, speaking in excited tones. "Hurry up!" She yelled one more time before rushing out of the room and striding to the top of the stairs.

Sky rolled her eyes, but threw herself onto the bed and pulled on her ankle socks. Straining her ears as the front door opened she could distinctly hear Zach's soft, pleasing tone and Stiles' sharper voice greeting the two women before falling silent as Lydia coughed for their attention. Skyler smiled as she started sliding her feet into her boots. She had specifically chosen these for the chunky heels for walking purposes as Lydia had refused to let her wear Converse, even though she had promised that they would match her dress. She could hear Lydia raising her voice downstairs, trying to capture her attention and draw her down. Grinning, she went to pick up her purse from the vanity, checking to make sure that her phone was still in there, keys, money and knife. She was taking no chances tonight. She knew that her, Stiles, Scott, Jackson, Allison and Lydia in the same room together would be too much for Peter to resist. Taking a deep breath, she left the room, poking her head around the top of the stairs, watching the group below.

"Sky!"

"Coming Lydia!" She yelled back, pulling back behind the corner of the stairwell. Her stomach was fluttering with nerves. She had managed to keep thoughts of Zach and Stiles out of her head for most of the day but know they were invading her brain, and the pain that she had felt on discovering that Stiles was attending the Formal with Lydia was starting to creep up again. Smoothing her dress and calming herself as best she could, Sky moved to the top of the stairs, suddenly wishing that she had had time to practice her entrance like Lydia had advised her to.

"Skyler!"

She fought the urge to roll her eyes as she took hold of the banister, and placed her foot onto the top step. Lydia was waiting for her at the foot of the stairs. Zach stood on one side of her, blond hair swept back, perfectly composed in his gray suit, Stiles on the other, shifting nervously from foot to foot, fidgeting uncomfortably in his suit, tie crooked. Skyler swallowed once and started to descend the stairs, keeping her eyes on her shoes, willing herself not to stumble. Her mouth began to feel drier and drier as she reached the final step and looked up. Stiles was watching her with wide eyes, lips slightly parted. She wished that she had left her hair down so that she could hide behind it now. He caught her eyes and smiled softly, his gaze roving her body. She felt so naked under his watchful eye.

"You look lovely," Zach piped up after several seconds of Stiles and Skyler staring silently into each other's eyes, stepping forward so he was closer to her than either of the other two. Sky felt a pang of guilt, she was going to have to try to keep away from Stiles tonight, keep her focus solely on her date.

"Thank you, Zach," she smiled sweetly at him, ducking her head to break eye contact with Stiles. "You look positively dashing."

"Why thank you m'lady," he laughed gently and bowed, catching her eye.

"You are quite welcome," she replied, curtsying lightly and giggling. She glanced over his shoulder at Lydia, who was watching her approvingly, Stiles, who was looking anywhere but at her and Zach, and Natalie and Rebecca, who were over the moon.

"I, uh, I got you this," he waved a small open plastic box at her, smiling awkwardly. Once he had stopped flailing enough that she could get a good look at it, she saw that it was a black and white rose corsage on a black lace band.

"It's beautiful," Sky breathed out, reaching out and running a finger along one of the petals. She had noticed on her way down the stairs that Lydia was already wearing the pale pink corsage that she had picked out with Stiles the day before.

"Will I...?" Zach gestured to her wrist, letting his fingers rest on the soft skin, lying over the veins.

"Wait!" Rebecca screamed, jumping to attention and scurrying over to the hall table and picking up her camera. "Pictures! Gotta take pictures! Your father insisted."

"Oh, Becca," Skyler groaned, screwing up her eyes then immediately opening them again as Lydia screamed at her not to screw up her makeup.

"Don't take that tone with me!" The woman scolded her, taking her arm and pulling her back to the stairs. She positioned her on the second step, turned slightly sideways, then dragged a blushing Zach over to her. "Hold out your arm. Not all rigid, curve it slightly, don't look so stiff! Zach, put the corsage on her."

Sky grimaced at the boy who grinned back, equally mortified. His hand was hovering over her wrist, ready at any second to tie the ribbon around her fragile arm.

"Becca, could you hurry up," she snapped. "I feel like my arm is going to fall off soon."

"Okay, okay, just hold on. Just..." She fiddled with a few buttons on the camera, twisting and turning one of the dials. "Alright, alright, got it. Zach start tying it... Now!"

She smiled demurely at the camera, trying to ignore Stiles' stony expression as he watched Zach's fingers tracing her skin as he tied the corsage around her wrist, fingers fumbling as he made the loop. He ended up having to untie it and retie it twice, as Rebecca managed to keep blurring the photos. By the time they were done, Sky's arm was shaking with the effort of holding it up. Her and Zach were switched out for Lydia and Stiles. She had to force herself to watch without feeling sick as he stood behind her Lydia and she reached back, sliding his arms around her waist. Apart from Stiles' usual awkwardness, they looked quite comfortable together, Lydia leaning back against his chest, pouting prettily. She was such a natural poser it was hard for her not to look beautiful in whatever she was doing.

"Okay, now all four of you together!" Rebecca insisted, Natalie clapping and squeaking in approval.

"We really need to get going..." Sky started, but was shushed by Lydia, who dragged her over to the stairs again, making her stand beside her on the second step.

"Boys, you stand in front of us. Oh, for Christ's sake, no! Zach you're in front of Skyler, she's your date isn't she!?" Lydia sighed at their simple mistake, shaking her head at them. "Boy's turn slightly to your left. Only slightly. Sky, hand on Zach's shoulder. The hand with the corsage, obviously. Honestly."

At this point, Sky was biting her tongue to stop herself from from screaming in irritation. She hated standing still, taking pictures and Stiles and Zach being within ten feet of each other, so this was pretty much her perfect storm. She really didn't think it could get any worse until she was climbing down off the stairs for a third time and Lydia caught her upper arm.

"I think Sky and Stiles should take a few pictures together," she piped up, not taking her eyes away from Sky's face.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" She hissed under her breath, glaring at her friend.

"What ever could you mean?" Lydia muttered back through gritted teeth, smiling as best she could.

"I don't know if that's the best idea," Stiles muttered, eyes flickering across to Zach, who was standing tense, looking uncomfortable with the situation. "Not that I don't want to, it's just..." Stiles trailed off, seeing the blush that overtook Sky's face.

"Of course it's a good idea," Rebecca interrupted, waving a hand at the pair. Sky was sure that Rebecca wanted a daughter of her own to dress up and pose.

"Alright, fine, but one picture and then we need to go," she insisted. Skyler dragged herself back onto the stairs, turning sideways as Lydia had instructed.

"Not like that this time," Natalie moved forward, taking hold of Sky and moving her down to the foot of the stairs, smoothing back a few loose strands of hair as Stiles hovered awkwardly behind them. "Now Stiles, you stand here." She pushed him gently behind Sky, until his chest was pressed against the girl's back. As Natalie slid out of the way of Rebecca's camera, Skyler could feel Stiles' arms hovering around her waist, just close enough that she could feel him there but he wasn't actually touching her. She sighed and slid her hands down his arms so that they rested over the back of his hands and pressed them down against her.

"I'd rather get this done quickly, and I'm sure you would too," she whispered, just low enough that only Stiles could hear it. It was hard to keep her voice steady as she felt the warm tingling sensation where he was touching her spread throughout her body.

"S-sure. I mean, we both have dates to get back to," he replied softly, mouth nearly pressed right to her ear. "And by the way, the dress was definitely worth waiting to see. You look beautiful."

Her body flushed with pleasure and guilt at Stiles' words. On the one hand, hearing those words from him were like a dream come true, and she could almost forget that he was attending the Formal with her best friend. On the other, when her own date had complimented her, she had felt absolutely nothing. Okay, she had been flattered, but it was easy to be flattered, it was not easy to experience what she felt whenever Stiles whispered in her ear. Zach was such a nice guy, but he wasn't Stiles and she was going to spend the entire night wishing that he was, and that that was so unfair to him.

The second the picture was taken, Sky jerked away from him, breaking out of the circle his arms had created around her. She rushed to Zach's side, placing a hand on his arm and rubbing his bicep gently as Rebecca gave him instructions on where to stand with Lydia. Just as she was releasing him, her phone started to vibrate in her clutch, sounding out a Black Keys song. She pulled her arm back from Zach, rummaging in the purse for her phone. The caller ID read 'Derek Hale'.

"I need to take this," she murmured, keeping her head down and hurrying into the kitchen. She swiped the answer button and pressed it to her ear, leaning on the counter. "Derek, where the hell have you been?!"

"Not quite, sweetheart."

"Peter," she breathed out, straightening up. "What the hell d'you want? And where is Derek!?"

"As I told you before, dear, I am not my nephew's keeper," he told her, and she could hear the obnoxious smirk in his voice as he took on a playful tone. "He's a grown-up, Skyler, he can do whatever he wants."

"Why d'you have his phone then? And why are you calling?"

"I knew you would pick up if you thought it was him," Peter explained, enjoyment colouring his voice. "And I wanted to speak to you."

"What did you want to say, Peter," Skyler asked in the strongest tone she could manage. "'Cause I'm kinda busy."

"I wanted to say that that dress look lovely on you, black really is your colour." She spun around wildly, taking in every inch of the kitchen as if she were expecting Peter to be sat at the breakfast bar. Her eyes were drawn to the large window above the sink, opening onto the pitch black back garden. "Don't worry, Skyler," he chuckled, sending a shiver down her spine, "I'm not inside the house, not in the kitchen with you, or in the hall with Mr Stilinski and Lydia and, is it Zach? No, I'm just...keeping an eye on you."

"Why? And I mean it this time, what the fuck do you want?" She stuck her head out, making sure that everyone was still standing on the stairs, Lydia and Zach posing together.

"I wanted to give you one more chance to consider my offer from the other day," his voice dropped low as he moved on to a more serious matter. "My offer of the bite."

"I told you that I'm not interested," Skyler hissed into the phone, sidling over to the kitchen sink and peering out the window. "I don't want the bite and I don't want to be like you."

"Oh, my dear girl," Peter sighed with a short laugh that sounded more like a bark. "I am going to tell you this one more time, after tonight, you will wish more than anything that you had taken this offer."

"And what, may I ask, is happening tonight Hale?" She inquired, voice trembling.

"Well I couldn't ruin the surprise, could I? But I promise you, mine is the team you'll want to be on before the night is over. Just a little warning, because I like you," Peter told her, and she could hear the sharp edge to his tone underneath the friendly conversation. "I'm sure I'll see you later tonight. Black really is your colour."

There was a loud bang on the window and the security lights flickered on suddenly as the call ended, making Sky jump in fright and give a little scream. Her heart pounding, she moved to the glass doors, grasping a handle and wrenching the door open without pausing to think of what may be outside. She shivered in the cool air as she stumbled a few steps onto the back patio, halting at the edge of the pool. Her eyes scanned the trees behind Lydia's garden, seeking out any of trace of the Alpha. As she spun on one foot, eyes wide, she noticed a little silver object on the ground. She crouched, picking it up between her thumb and index finger, holding it up in front of her face. It was Derek's phone, the screen cracked down the center. She realised as she stood that there was a crack in the kitchen window, matching the size of the phone she held in her hand.

"Sky?"

"Oh my God, Stiles," Skyler jumped around, hand pressed to her racing heart. Stiles was standing at the patio doors, watching her nervously. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"What are you doing out here? It's freezing," Stiles asked, shuffling over to her and placing his hands on her arms, rubbing them vigourously to try and warm her up.

"He called me," Sky whispered, unable to take her eyes off of the phone in her hand.

"Who?" Stiles' brows furrowed, shaking her gently when she didn't reply. "Who called you, Skyler?"

"Peter," she told him shakily. "He called me and he said that after tonight I would wish that I had taken the bite and that his team was the one to be on. Stiles, he was out here. He called me from this phone, from Derek's phone." She brandished it, nearly shoving it in his face. "He was watching us. He knew what I was wearing, where I was, he threw this at the window when I was in the kitchen. Stiles, he was here!" She shrieked, voice becoming hysterical.

"Shhhh. Hey, hey, it's okay," Stiles reached a hand up to cup the back of her head, pulling it down to rest against his collarbone, his other reaching around to her back and drawing her close. "I will never, never, let him hurt you. Sky, I would never let anyone hurt you, because..." He swallowed deeply and screwed up his face, mind reeling.

"Because why, Stiles?" Skyler asked, lips brushing against the collar of his shirt.

He took a deep breath in and pushed her back, holding her at arm's length and staring right at her, face flushed and bottom lip drawn between his teeth. "Sky, I care about you, you already know that. But since you got here, everything's so much better. I know people have told you that I've been in love with Lydia since third grade, hell, I've said it myself, but things change, people change, and I've gotta let you know that-"

"Skyler. We need to go." Zach's head was sticking out of the patio doors, watching Stiles with a stoney expression. "Are you alright?"

"Fine, thanks" she replied hoarsely, glancing away from Stiles to lock eyes with her date. "I'm coming, just a moment." He withdrew, shooting a final withering look at Stiles, which was completely missed as he was still watching Sky's face.

"Stiles, you were saying?" She asked, drawing her attention back to Stiles' now closed off expression.

"Not important anymore," he murmured, dropping her arms and taking a few steps back.

"No, Stiles," she laughed uncomfortably, stepping towards him. "You have to tell me what you were going to say."

"I have a date to get to and so do you, so forget it," Stiles turned his back on her stalking into the house. Sky watched him go, following a few seconds after in bemused hurt, tucking Derek's phone into her clutch. She paused in the kitchen as she shut the patio doors, and pressed her face to the glass, peering into the once again dark garden. Her entire body tensed as a flash of red at the end of the garden, pulsing for a beat and then disappearing. She pulled away from the doors, still on the defensive, and composed herself, striding out of the kitchen.

Stiles was already talking to Natalie when she reached the front door and instead of demanding to know what she had done to offend him, she hugged Rebecca, promising that they would be home by one and she would call if plans changed or if she decided to stay with one of the girls. Lydia hugged her next and stealthily tucked a few condoms into her purse, whispering in her ear that it was best to have precautions. Stiles wouldn't even look at her. Zach wrapped an arm around her waist guiding her to the door and then through it, pulling it shut behind them. The sudden cold pierced her skin, and made her draw closer to him as the idea of Peter watching them invaded her brain. His arm tightened around her, but it did not make Skyler feel protected. Nothing could make Skyler feel protected tonight, and nothing could prepare her for what was about to happen.

* * *

Dress - .

Shoes- images/jolie-block-heel-concealed-platform-ankle-boots-black-suede-style-p1501-5940_

Hair - cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=87154531

Necklace - . /_-yWNMWcLo-Q/S2JhTnIDceI/AAAAAAAAEvs/T_C17n_wSbI/s400/wooden+wolf+dream+catcher+


	21. School Dances Suck

_**Hey guys! As usual, apologies for the wait, I hope this chapter makes up for it. Last chapter will be coming as soon as possible, but in the meantime, enjoy this one! Love you guys X**_

Sky laughed as Zach spun her around, tipping her head back and watching the twinkling lights on the ceiling shine. Her good mood was accounted for by the fact that she was slightly tipsy due to the fact that she had been sipping whiskey all night from Zach's flask. He dropped her back on her feet unceremoniously as the cheery Christmas song came to an end. She giggled, stumbling backwards on her heels as she hit the ground. It was thankfully much less uncomfortable than it had been earlier.

After they had left Lydia's house neither of them had quite known what to say to each other. Sky felt like she should explain what had happened with Stiles on the back porch, but she also felt like she didn't quite owe him an explanation. They had sat in silence for most of the journey, and whenever either tried to break it, the other would sigh or turn away. When they reached the school, Sky opened the car door for herself, scrambling out as fast as she could before Zach could round the car and try to help her out.

"So..." She chuckled nervously, rocking on her heels.

"Yeah." Zach's tone was one of resignation, and there seemed to be unspoken agreement between them that the night was more than likely destined to be an awkward one if they didn't get over themselves pretty soon. "Look, you and Stilinski aren't really my business, so I think we should agree not to talk about this? And just concentrate on having fun tonight."

"Good idea," she nodded, smiling at him.

"And as an ice-breaker," Zach smirked at her, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a flask, dangling it between his thumb and forefinger. "Can I tempt you with some whiskey?"

"You can tempt me with a shit tonne of whiskey tonight, Zach," Sky grinned widely, pulling the metal flask out of his hand and taking a long swallow of the liquid, letting it burn sweetly.

It was an hour and a half later, she had danced with Scott twice when she had managed to drag him off the bleachers, Lydia several times, Danny once and she had avoided Stiles to the best of her ability.

"I am going to go get myself a beverage. May I interest you in some whiskey spiked punch, m'lady?" Zach asked, spinning her around.

"Why that would be lovely, monsieur," Sky giggled, starting to feel dangerously dizzy and light-headed from the combination of the alcohol and the twirling. They slowed to a stop, Zach letting go of her and taking a step back.

"I shall return momentarily." He waltzed away, humming the Blue Danube quite loudly to himself and disappearing into the crowd.

As she hovered on the dance floor waiting for her date to return, she heard Stiles' unmistakable laugh. Skyler glanced over her shoulder, looking for him. He was dancing a few feet over, holding Lydia's waist tightly and smiling fondly at the girl. Lydia had her head cocked to one side, smiling coyly at him. She ignored the painful twinge in her gut, and instead watched Scott awkwardly hover on the bleachers.

"Here you are." Zach appeared back over her shoulder, pressing a red solo cup of whiskey and punch into her hand.

"Thanks," she murmured, turning back to face him as the next song started.

"Ohhhh, I love this song!" Zach yelled, throwing his arms up and managing to spill half of his drink on the floor.

"ME TOO!" Sky yelled back, tipping the entire contents of the cup into her mouth, then tossed it over her shoulder, hearing it bounce onto the hard gym floor behind her. Zach laughed at her and downed his own drink, dropping it on the floor by his foot. Neither of then were quite clear-headed enough to remember the words, so they just mumbled along, making up their own words. She whipped her head back and forth, wishing that she had left her hair down tonight, so that she could mosh properly. Skyler was halfway through a little wiggle dance, when she felt someone rush past her, shoving into her back and making her stumble forward into Zach. Huffing in frustration, she stepped back, glancing over her shoulder and having to jump out of the way again to avoid Coach Finstock.

"What the hell is going on?" Zach asked quietly.

Sky was about to answer, when the Coach's voice cut her off. "McCall! I see you! Come here, buddy! Come here. McCall! Get outta my way! McCall! It's a small gym, buddy. I'm gonna find you!"

"Scott's not technically meant to be here tonight, grades and the such," she explained through fits of giggles. "I think Coach has seen him." She pushed herself up on her tiptoes, peering over the crowd to see Scott skid around a group of girls who jumped out of the way, shrieking in surprise.

"I gotcha, McCall! Come here, come here! Get outta my way! McCall!"

Sky laughed once, clapping a hand over her mouth as several people turned to stare at her. She watched as Scott paused for a second before darting over to Danny, wriggling himself inbetween him and his date, throwing his arms around Danny and whispering to him.

"I need to see this," she insisted, taking Zach's hand and dragging him over to the crowd of people beginning to gather around the two boys. She pushed her way through the throng, dragging Zach behind her. She stumbled through to the front of the circles, gaping in delight at the situation. Coach had just skidded to a halt a few feet away from the couple dancing and was staring at them suspiciously, eyes narrowed.

"McCall, you're not supposed to... What are you do..." He trailed off, eyes darting between Scott and Danny. "What are you doing?"

"Yes Coach?" Scott asked innocently, looking around with his best impression of doe eyes.

"Okay," Coach laughed nervously, glancing around uncomfortably as he realised that he was caught in a situation that could portray him as incredibly homophobic. "Hold on, you- I was just saying he's not supposed to- I mean, I wasn't saying that he shouldn't-" Sky watched on with everyone else in increasing glee as he continued to flounder, searching for something suitable to say. She covered her mouth, laughing as quietly as possible into her hand. "You guys don't think- You don't- I, I was- Just dance, everybody! Just dance! Dance! It's a party!" Coach waved his hands wildly, backing away from the boys.

"Thanks dude, I owe you," Scott grinned at Danny, finally letting him go.

"What are you looking at, Greenberg?!" Coach had disappeared from sight but his voice was still loud enough to be heard over the music.

"Oh, my God," Sky breathed, letting her laughter burst forth. Her shoulders were shaking with the force of the laughter, and tears were pooling in her eyes. Dropping Zach's hand, she bent over, resting her hands on her knees to hold herself up. Zach watched her, smiling softly. He thought that she looked so beautiful like that, bent double, crying with laughter, not giving a shit what anyone thought of her.

"I need to... Fuck," she straightened up, trying to catch her breath through fits of laughter. "I need to sit down for a bit, my legs are killing me." She led him towards one of the empty tables. Most of the people were still dancing, and the only other table with occupants was the one that Lydia and Stiles were sitting at. She threw herself down in a chair, crossing her legs at the ankle and reclining back. Zach took the seat in front of her.

"So..." He started sweetly, cocking his head at an angle and watching her intently. "Having fun?"

"More than I expected," she admitted, nodding her head at him.

"You expected it to a horrible night then?" He asked jokingly, raising his eyebrows at her.

"No," she laughed, pushing his shoulder gently. "You know I didn't mean it like that!"

"I know, I know," Zach told her in a placating tone, grinning at her. They were quiet for a second, Zach looking down at his lap and Skyler fiddling with the corsage. "You know," he started, eyes jumping to her face and then flickering away again. "I was so freaked out about tonight. Lydia had to bring me out for coffee this morning and talk me down. She basically told me to grow a pair."

"Zach..." Sky had no idea how to continue, and wasn't sure whether to be glad or not that he kept speaking.

"'Cause I was so psyched when you called me, I mean you actually called me, and asked if I could go to the Formal," Zach chuckled quietly, shaking his head. "And I get that you wanted to go as friends, and at the time, I thought I was gonna be okay with that, but... I'm not. I mean, I'm happy being friends, but I'm not happy entertaining the idea that we could be more when I'm not sure how you feel about, even thought I have a fairly good idea."

Sky's tipsy mood had disapparated quicker than Dumbledore on speed. The serious turn the conversation had taken had brought her back down to Earth and now she felt like an even bigger bitch then usual for leading him by inviting him to the dance. "Zach," she repeated, wracking her brains for something to say that wasn't offensive or patronising. "I'm not gonna bullshit you, because that wouldn't be fair for either of us. I care about you, I really do, but not in the way that you care about me."

"I kinda knew that already," Zach admitted, one side of his mouth quirking up slightly, in a small sad smile. "You like Stilinski." He nodded over her shoulder towards Stiles and Lydia's table. She glanced behind her, seeing Lydia standing with her hand on Stiles' shoulder, before letting go of him and walking away, through the doors and out into the hall. Sky turned away as Stiles dropped his head into his hands.

"I don't know-"

"Please don't deny it," Zach's voice was slowly losing the hurt tone and taking on the tone that Danny used when they were discussing boys. "You like him. You have since you got to Beacon Hills."

"Shut up," she told him, without even a hint of seriousness. "You don't really wanna talk about this."

"Yeah, I do! How dare you insinuate that I don't care about your dating life!" Zach protested, adopting a look of comical shock. "I think you two would be good together."

"I don't think you know what you're talking about."

"I think I know that he's always looking at you, and talking about you, that he's protective of you, and if any of the guys in the locker make a comment about you, well," he blew out a soft breath. "McCall's gotta stop him from kicking their ass."

Sky rolled her eyes disbelievingly at him and raised an eyebrow. "He's just being a good friend. We're close," she explained, reaching out to pick up a cup from the table before remembering that it wasn't hers and dropping it with a disgusted grimace.

"Not with the way he looks at you," Zach insisted again. "Trust me, guys can tell when other guys like a girl. The same way girls can tell when other girls like a guy. Also, Jackson told me that he totally got a boner looking at you that time you six went bowling."

She flushed with embarrassment, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks and ducked her head. Zach laughed at her face, leaning back in his chair and running a hand through his hair.

"Can you do me a big favour please?" He asked, stretching out and taking one of her hands, turning it to face up and running his index finger along the lines of her palm.

"What is it?"

"Tell Stiles how you feel about him."

"That was unexpected."

"It's for the best."

"Don't be stupid."

"He's looking at you right now."

"Really?" Sky asked, hands immediately flying to her hair, smoothing the loose strands and making sure that she still looked cute as she twisted her head nearly one hundred and eighty degrees to try to unobtrusively stare at Stiles.

"No, but d'you see the way you jumped the second you thought he was paying you some attention," he pointed out, raising his eyebrows. "Why wouldn't you tell him?"

"Because he doesn't care about me that way, I just know it. Alright?" She shrugged, turning away slightly, wishing he would drop the stupid subject.

"I think he does, and I'm a guy so I would know," Zach pursed his lips gently and exhaled through his nose. "And if he says he doesn't feel the same way... Well, if you two are that close, then surely there's nothing you guys can't get over. In time. And you could always just claim you were super wasted, because your breath does smell a bit whiskey-ish."

"You're such a jerk," Skyler said, trying to keep as straight a face as possible. "I do not smell of alcohol. And I may actually be pretty off my head, 'cause I'm actually considering your idea."

"And if it goes wrong, you can always come back to me and you can stay at my house with the rest of my friends and we can get shitfaced and talk about how much everything sucks," Zach offered lightly.

"I though Danny was meant to be my gay best friend?" She grinned, uncrossing her legs and leaning forwards, placing her elbows on her knees and resting her chin in her hands. "I don't deserve you. You're much too nice after I've been such a bitch to you."

"No one deserves me, darling," he told her, standing up swiftly and smiling down at her. "I'm too good for everyone. Now, I am going to go and find Danny, and whoever he's dancing with now, and we are going to drink ourselves stupid, and you are going to go get the guy you truly deserve." He winked at her once, before turning and disappearing back into the crowd that were still dancing. Sky exhaled weakly, running her hands down her face and wondering if she still felt drunk enough to do this. Deciding that it was better not to give herself time to consider it, she left the table, sauntering towards Stiles. He still had his head down as Sky reached him, hovering awkwardly in front of him, unsure whether or not to sit.

"Uh, hey," she started after a minute, rocking back and forth on her heels.

His head shot up, eyes wide, looking almost startled to see her standing there. "Oh. Hi." He waved a hand for her to sit down and she dropped herself on the chair in front of him. It felt so uncomfortably formal, like she was at a job interview and Stiles was sizing her up. Once she was settled, she crossed her legs, making sure that the skirt of her dress didn't rise up too high. Stiles was watching the ground intently, avoiding any eye contact with her at all.

"So." Sky wanted so much to be able to tell him exactly what she had planned to say, but she simply couldn't. Looking at his face and knowing that if she told him, there was the possibility of them never speaking again for sheer awkwardness, she just couldn't do it. "You okay?"

"Tired, that's all," he mumbled flatly, still not raising his head. "Not really in the mood for dancing." There was a heavy pause, neither tempted to break it for a minute or two until Sky piped up a minute later, unable to take the crushing silence any longer.

"Where's Lydia gone?" Sky inquired, searching for her friend.

"Left to find Jackson," Stiles grumbled, loosening his tie.

"She wear you out?" She asked quietly, watching him from the corner of her eye.

Stiles' head snapped up to take in the questioning look on her face. "No," he barked out quickly, seeming confused and annoyed. "Why would you ask that?"

"Just wondering," Sky mumbled defensively. "So what did you guys get up to then?"

"Talked a bit, danced, and she gave me some advice," Stiles shrugged one shoulder, letting his gaze drop from her face again. "It was fine."

"So, your date with Lydia Martin wasn't all you expected it to be?" Skyler asked, leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs.

"Could you just drop it please!?" He snapped, running a hand over his shorn hair in one of his most familiar gestures.

"Jesus, Stiles, I was just asking!" Sky retorted, holding her hands up in a defensive position.

"Well could you not?!" Stiles growled at her, raising his eyes to hers.

"Stiles, you've told me that you wanted this since third grade, why are you freaking out about this?" Sky laughed incredulously, trying to understand Stiles' behaviour."

"Why are you asking so many questions?" Stiles retorted, glaring angrily at her. "Am I going on and on about you and that jerk?!"

"Jesus Christ, his name is Zach! And I was trying to be a friend, okay?!" Sky raised her voice and narrowed her eyes, glaring right back at him. "You finally got a date with your dream girl and I was trying to be supportive about it."

"Well maybe as a friend, you should realise that I don't wanna talk about it," he told her coldly, pushing his chair back from the table. "So stay out of it." Stiles stood hurriedly, knocking his chair over in the process and striding towards the door that led out into the school. Skyler stared after him in shock, never having seen him act like that before. She deliberated for a second and then scooped up her bag from where it lay on the table, following Stiles. He was leaning back against one of the lockers across from the double doors when she entered the hall, head tipped back to rest on the metal, eyes closed.

"What the hell was that about?!" She yelled, storming up to him and punching him in the shoulder.

"Nothing! I was fine until you wouldn't shut up about Lydia!" Stiles exclaimed, pushing off the locker and forcing her to take a few steps back to avoid physically colliding with him.

"You never shut up about Lydia!" Sky retorted, fighting the urge to run a hand through her hair. No matter what state she was in, if she messed it up, Lydia would kill her.

"Why d'you think I do that?!" Stiles stared at her, searching her face for any sign that she knew the answer to his vague question. "Because even though I'm over Lydia, I still can't have the girl I really want. Because talking about Lydia makes me feel better when I have to sit and watch Zach falling all over you!"

"I don't... I don't understand..." Sky trailed off, studying the pained look on Stiles' face. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? "But it was Lydia. You always wanted Lydia."

"I don't want Lydia," Stiles murmured, reaching up a shaking hand and placing it flat against Sky's cheek. His thumb brushed along her cheekbone, eliciting a delighted shiver from Sky, who stepped closer to him until their chests were nearly flush. Stiles closed his eyes and took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders. "I want you."

He leaned down, pressing hos forehead to hers. The tips of their noses were brushing against each other's and Sky could feel Stiles' warm breath fan out across her lips. She gasped in delight as she felt the warmth of his body wrap around her own. He hesitated for one more second, then closed the gap, pressing his lips against hers.

It was like everything that had happened, everything she had felt since coming to Beacon Hills has been building up inside her, and now the dam had burst. She wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to pour everything she felt for him into the kiss, because who knew if they were ever going to be doing this again. She tilted her head to the side, pressing tighter to Stiles. He moaned against her lips, sliding the hand that was laying on her cheek around to the back of her head, tangling itself in the plaits, knocking bobby pins to the ground. His other hand reached around to lie flat on the small of her back, massaging it gently with the tips of his fingers.

Every nerve in her body felt raw, every place that Stiles was touching her felt like it was burning. Every single cliché about fireworks inside your head when you had your first truly special kiss was completely wrong. Sky couldn't hear anything right now, and she was fairly sure that a kiss with her best friend/soul-destroying crush at a Christmas dance under fake snow and snowflake lights, her in a dress, him in a tux, was pretty special. But there weren't any fireworks. There was only silence. Complete and utter clarity like nothing she had ever experienced before. She was burning white hot, but she was perfectly calm, and nothing else mattered but her and Stiles in that moment. The school could blow up, burn down around them, Peter could massacre the entire student body, but Stiles was there, kissing her, and that was all that mattered.

Of course, like every perfect moment, it had to end. Their desperate kissing and groping was taking up a hell of a lot of breath in their bodies, and after half a minute of grabbing at each other and moaning each other's names, they had to pull back to take in more oxygen. When they managed to reluctantly separate their lips, Stiles kept his forehead against hers, refusing to relinquish all contact. Taking in heaving breaths, Sky cracked her eyes open, meeting Stiles' as he returned her gaze, blinking rapidly. His eyes seemed darker, the usual honey brown now an almost inky black colour.

"Tell me..." he trailed off, tongue darting out to wet his lips. "Tell me if you want me to stop."

"Don't even think about it."

His lips were on hers again before she could think, cutting off her train of thought and the roaring in her ears disappeared again. She could use the silence to concentrate on Stiles and only Stiles. He was walking backwards now, without breaking the kiss, keeping his hands on her. He stopped as his back hit the locker again, and grasped her tighter. Turning slowly, he switched their positions until Sky's back was against the metal and he had his entire body pressed against hers, barely an inch between them at any point. The way Stiles had her up against the locker was making her body pulse with arousal. She wasn't use to this dominant side of him, but, fuck, it was a serious turn on. She arched her back, pressing her chest against Stiles' and pulling her lips away from him and let her head fall against the locker. Stiles barely gave her a second to recover before he dropped his lips to her neck, pressing kisses up the column of her throat. She released his neck and ran her hands over his hair, dragging her fingernails along his scalp. He felt him groan against her neck before opening his mouth and sucking gently on the sensitive skin. She gasped in delight and her eyes snapped open, Stiles' actions sending a jolt of pleasure to her core.

"FUCK!"

Jackson was standing s few feet away, swaying slightly, watching them through bleary, bloodshot eyes with a shocked expression. She shoved Stiles away from her and he looked hurt for a second, before spinning round and catching sight of Jackson too.

"Holy God, what are you doing?" He yelled, shuffling a few steps away from Sky. Jackson didn't reply, but stood there, watching them, looking like he had just done something very, very bad.

"Jackson," Sky moved towards him as a though dawned on her. "Where's Lydia?"

"I don't know," he whispered plaintively, and Sky's stomach dropped. It had been at least fifteen minutes, possibly twenty since Lydia had gone looking for him. She glanced over at Stiles, too worried to feel uncomfortable about what had just happened.

"Where the hell have you been?" Stiles demanded, stepping up to Jackson. Even though he was a good deal taller and wider than Stiles, Jackson seemed to shrink in on himself, an ashamed look overtaking him. "What? What's wrong?"

"I... I was out behind the school, and I... I was out..." Jackson glanced at Sky, and she thought for a second that he was tearing up.

"What happened?" Stiles asked again, tone firmer than before. "Jackson. What did you do?"

"I told Allison's father," he murmured. "I told Allison's father about Scott. About what he is. They're going after him."

"You fuck. You utter fuckwit," Sky said quietly, her fear too strong to allow her to yell. "Do you have any idea what you've done? They're going to kill him."

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know," Jackson started, taking a step in her direction. It was the most pathetic that she had ever sounded.

"We need to find him," Stiles rounded on Sky, laying a hand on her shoulder. "We need to find him and we need to find Lydia. Jackson and I will go and look, you go back into the gym and wait there."

"Not a chance in hell, Stilinski," Skyler protested, pushing his hand off. "She's my best friend, and Scott's yours, and we need to find them. Don't think that you can make me just sit in there and let you do all the work. No." She reached down, untying the laces on her shoes, and stepping out of them, onto the cold lino of the hallway. "Jackson, you go that way," she pointed down the hall towards the lobby. "Stiles, that way." She gestured to the doors leading to the back of the school. "And I'll take the rest."

"I'm not letting you-"

"It's not a choice, Stiles," Sky told him, dropping her shoes on the floor and taking his face in her hands. "I'll be careful if you are." She pushed herself up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his jaw, just under his earlobe. "We need to talk about that at some point," she whispered, then pulled back.

"I am, uh, definitely looking forward to, uh, to that conversation," Stiles mumbled, back to his normal awkward self after the heat of the moment had faded.

"If either of you guys find either of them, call." She nodded once at the boys, and all three took off in their separate direction.

Thirty minutes later, Skyler's search of the building had turned up nothing except a couple of seniors having sex in a classroom, which she would give anything to forget. Sighing and rubbing her eyes, she wandered into the lobby. She hadn't received a call from either Jackson or Stiles, and was about to pull out her phone to check on them when she noticed the flashing lights outside. The harsh red and blue of the Beacon Hills police department was blinding her, with the added bonus of an ambulance.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck." She breathed, trying to run across the lobby on her shaking legs. She crashed into the door, spilling out onto the steps, shoes still in hand. "Not Lydia, please, please, not Lydia." Stumbling down the steps towards the crowd at the ambulance, Sky craned her neck to try and catch a glance of the person on the stretcher.

"Get out the way!"

Oh Christ. That was Jackson's voice. Sky started to sprint, ignoring the pain of the tarmac cutting the skin on her feet, shoving people out of her way to get to him. She collided with his back just as the paramedics were loading the stretched into the back of the ambulance. She could see blood all over the blankets, and caught a flash of vibrant strawberry blond hair before the doors slammed shut and the vehicle peeled out of the parking lot.

"Jackson, please tell me that's not her, Jackson please," she begged, clutching wildly at his arm.

"I don't know what happened, I swear." He didn't even look at her, just grasped her hand and dragged her behind him as he made his way to the Porsche. "I just got a call from Stiles saying that there was an ambulance on the way for Lydia and I needed to get to the field. When I got out there he was gone and she was just lying there with a huge bite mark in her side!" His voice had risen to a desperate scream and his hands were shaking so hard it took him four attempts to open the car door.

"What about Stiles?" Sky asked, throwing herself into the passenger seat.

"He just said that he needed to help Derek's uncle with something, and to look after you," Jackson turned his face away as he started the car to keep Sky from seeing the tear that slipped down his cheek. "I'm sorry."

"Why would he help Peter, Jackson?!" She demanded of him, fighting to stop herself punching the dashboard. "After Peter attacked Lydia? Why would he do that? What if Peter kills him? What if Lydia dies?!"

"Don't talk like that!" Jackson snarled, his usual asshole demeanor returning for a second before calming himself, and placing a hand as comfortingly as possible on her knee. "Sky. Sky, look at me." She glanced over at Jackson, her anger subsiding to give way to overwhelming fear. "I promise," he told her in an uncommonly kind voice. "Everything will be okay."

The severity of the situation was still creeping up on her, bit by bit. Three of her closest friends were in immediate danger, and the only people that could come to their rescue right now were her and Jackson. Everything had built and was now crashing down on their heads, and it was all going to absolute shit. Skyler let go of every inhibition she had, and found herself doing something she never thought she would ever allow herself to do in the presence of Jackson. Crying hysterically. For him, for herself, for what her life had become in the past few months, and most of all, for the seemingly inevitable death that was coming for them tonight.


	22. Out Of The Frying Pan, And Into The Fire

_**Wow. So it's taken a little while, but the last chapter is here. I hope you enjoy it.**_

Everything had gone so horribly wrong, so terribly, horribly wrong within the minuscule space of an hour. Sixty short minutes ago, Sky had been pressed against a locker, Stiles' lips covering her own. Now, she was sat on an orange plastic chair, shoes in her lap and her head resting on Jackson's shoulder. Neither of them had allowed to see Lydia since they had arrived, seeing as she had been rushed into an emergency surgery to stitch up the would that had almost ripped her body in half, and was now shut in her own private room as the doctors poked and prodded.

"I can't stop my hands shaking," she murmured, pressing her head harder against Jackson, hoping to find some kind of comfort from him.

"And why are you telling me?" He replied numbly, shifting underneath her until he was sitting up a bit straighter.

"Because yours can't either," Sky pointed out, watching as Jackson immediately folded his hands in his lap, then added in a small voice, "And I'm scared."

"She's gonna be okay," Jackson told but his voice was thick and filled with uncertainty. "She has to be. It's Lydia. She's too damn stubborn. Shit. How the fuck could this happen, Sky?"

"I don't know. She went to look for you and then she just..." Skyler trailed off, examining her shoes intently so that she wouldn't have to look at him. "She was just gone."

They lapsed into silence again, listening to the shrill beeping sounds of the life support machines in the rooms around them. She remembered the last time she had been in this position. Her mom had been coming home late one night from the law firm where she worked as a secretary, and the driver had been falling asleep at the wheel, hadn't even seen her mom's car until it was upside down in a ditch. The doctor had known within seconds of seeing her mother that she wasn't going to make it, but Sky had sat by her bedside for three days while her mom was lying there on life support. Eventually, seeing as Skyler was her mother's only living relative, but still underage, they had to revert to her mother's Last Will and Testament and let her pass away naturally. It was like the nightmare was happening all over again, but this time instead of her mother lying still in a hospital bed, it was Lydia.

"Do you love her, Jackson? Because she loves you. So much. Even after you broke her heart." It was meant as a genuine question, not a dig at him, even if it did sound like that. She was truly wondering about his feelings for her best friend. "If she comes out of this, Jackson, then you need to tell her, or she's gonna spend the rest of her time in high school pining over you and letting you screw her around." She could hear his breathing speeding up underneath her, but he didn't reply. "Jackson? Jackson, I'm goddamn fucking serious right now."

"Stop asking stupid questions," he snapped suddenly, pushing himself up out of the chair, letting her slump sideways without the support of his body. "So shut up."

"You broke her fucking heart, asshole," Sky told him softly, lying back in the chair. She was too stressed, too tired to yell, but she was getting a small vindictive pleasure out of seeing him squirm uncomfortably. "And now she's lying in a hospital bed, and you better hope to God that you get a chance to apologise." She hadn't particularly liked Jackson while he and Lydia were dating and she had actively disliked him with the passion of a thousand burning suns after he had dumped her. Now she was lying in a hospital bed and if she died, the mere thought of the possibility made bile rise up in her throat, she would think that Jackson never really cared for her. Lydia wasn't particularly close to her borderline neglectful mother and absentee father, so relied heavily on her friends, but, being the kind of girl that she was, Lydia didn't have too many close friends, with the exception of Allison and Skyler. Jackson was kind of all she had, she was desperately in love with him, and he acted like she meant nothing to him. It made Sky want to flip a table and smash everything in the immediate vicinity.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Jackson countered, rounding on her and fighting to keep his voice steady. "You have absolutely no idea about how we feel-"

"I have absolutely no idea about how you two felt for each other?" Sky scoffed, rubbing at her forehead with her index finger and thumb. "Who do you think had to hear Lydia going on and on about you? About your relationship? About how much she loved you and how much it killed her inside when you dumped her? You called her dead-weight, remember?"

"And what about you?!" Jackson asked coldly, running a hand through his hair as he looked down at her splayed on the chair, too terrified to even show emotion as Jackson watched her. "How d'you think she felt about you these past few weeks?"

"Enlighten me," she dropped her shoes and spread her arms wide, inviting the coming judgement.

"She knew you were lying to her! We all did! Lydia, me, Allison! For someone with so many secrets, you're a pretty fucking terrible liar," he spat, body flooded with the same victorious feeling Sky had experienced when she made Jackson feel like shit. "And she hated you for it! She was losing it, and it was all your fault."

She gave one short breathy laugh and pushed herself to her feet. "Is that the worst you can do? You wanna throw that in my face? How about trying to find something I don't know?" Sky stepped towards Jackson, coming nearly chest to chest with him. "I already know exactly what I put her through, 'cause I went through it myself. Thinking that you're losing your mind, never knowing whether or not you're truly safe, wondering if you can trust the people around you." She shoved him hard, sending him back a few steps. "At least I can admit the pain I put her through. Can you?" Her chest was heaving when she finished her little rant, longing to take a swing at him.

Jackson opened his mouth to reply but trailed off as several members of the Beacon Hills police department entered the waiting room. The Sheriff stood in the middle of the group, eyes roving over the people scattered across the room, sitting in the disgusting plastic chairs before settling on the two of them in the center of the room. Sky's face smudged with mascara and eyeliner, tears making clear tracks down her dirty face, standing barefoot, feet covered with dirt and scratches, oozing drops of blood onto the floor. Jackson had shrunk on in himself, cowering away from Sky, hands still trembling, blood soaked shirt sticking to his torso.

"Where is she?" Jackson asked as he hurried over to the Sheriff and stopped about half a foot in front of him, making the Sheriff shift backwards slightly. Sky followed quickly behind, picking up her shoes as she went.

"Hey. Hey!" Sheriff Stilinski tried to soothe the fear in Jackson's eyes, but he abandoned the attempt once he was that Jackson was inconsolable and instead tried to discern exactly what had happened at the school. "What the hell happened to that girl?"

"I-I don't know," Jackson admitted shakily, even though he was telling the truth, the tremor in his voice made it seem like he was lying. "I went out looking for her-"

"What, you just happened to wander into the middle of that field and you just found her there like that?" The Sheriff asked, his voice disbelieving and harsh and it sent nervous shivers down Skyler's spine. She had never heard him that detached or angry, but then again, she had never seen him on the job. "Don't lie to me, son." Sky shrank back behind Jackson, worried that the Sheriff would see her and somehow realise that she was holding something back. She may not have known exactly why Peter had attacked Lydia, but she knew that it was related to the werewolf problem that dominated Beacon Hills, the problem that Stiles had explicitly forbid everyone from telling his father about.

"No, I-" Jackson stopped suddenly, looking down at his shoes.

"Hey!" Sheriff Stilinski snapped again, drawing the boy's attention back to him. "What happened to her?"

"This isn't my fault," Jackson retorted, slipping back into his defensive asshole act.

"She's your girlfriend," he pointed out sharply, gripping the front of the boy's shirt roughly. "That's your responsibility!"

"No, she's not, okay?" His voice was beginning to revert back to it's usual smug tone.

"Is they seriously the fucking time, Jackson?" Sky asked quietly, jamming an elbow into his side.

"She didn't go to the Formal with me," he continued. Skyler's heart dropped as she realised where he was going with this.

"Then who'd she go with?" The Sheriff inquired, softer than he had before.

"D'you really wanna know?" Jackson smirked at them, glancing over his shoulder to Sky, then returning his gaze to Stiles' father. "She went with Stiles." He threw the name out with a vicious satisfaction, watching the Sheriff's face drop.

"What?" He asked, not quite believing what he was hearing.

"Stiles took her," Jackson spat, squaring his shoulders. The Sheriff stared him down, not wanting to let Jackson off the hook, 'cause he was an ass, but also knowing that he had a responsibility to figure out exactly what had happened to Lydia. He released Jackson slowly, withdrawing his hand from the boy's shirt.

"Somebody better find my son," he muttered, voice dead. Sky stepped back, ducking her head and tugging Jackson with her. "Wait a minute." The Sheriff reached around Jackson, grasping her arm softly and watching her grimly. "I'd like to talk to you."

Jackson smirked once and slipped out from between the two of them and turned back to the waiting room. He paused as he went, leaning down to press his lips almost to her ear. "I may have broken her heart," he told her coldly. "But Stilinski left her to bleed out." It wasn't even spiteful, it was just matter-of-fact. For whatever reason, and Skyler was trying hard to convince herself that it was a good one, Stiles had known where Lydia was and he abandoned her.

"Just, just come here for a minute," Stiles' father whispered, tugging her gently down the hallway after him.

"I don't know anything, sir, I swear," Sky started, shifting uncomfortably in his grasp. "You know that if I did then I would've told you already."

"I know that you don't know what happened to Lydia," the Sheriff released her arm and placed his hands on her shoulders, peering at her worriedly. "But you and my son, and Scott too, know more about what's going on in this town than you care to admit, so please... Anything you could tell me, anything could help. Please, Skyler."

Her stomach clenched painfully and her eyes flickered to the side, unable to hold eye contact for longer than a few seconds. She couldn't stand the thought of lying to him after everything he had done for her over the past few months. Taking care of her when her own father wasn't around, cooking for her, letting her stay in his house, treating her like family. But Stiles had specifically asked for his father to be kept out of it. Anyone that was involved usually ended up in life threatening danger, sooner or later, and as he was the only remaining member of Stiles' family, the boy had been quite adamant about his father's lack of involvement.

"I really don't know anything that could help you in any way," Sky lied through her teeth. She knew who had attacked Lydia, and she had a pretty good idea of why, although she wasn't quite sure how hurting Lydia affected the Argent family, except perhaps Allison. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Sky, if you're worried about someone hurting you, if you think it's Derek that might hurt you," the Sheriff murmured, lowering his voice and leaning closer. "There are precautionary steps, measures we can take to ensure that you're kept safe."

"What, like witness protection?" She asked confusedly, quirking her head to one side. The Sheriff nodded encouragingly, motioning for her to go on. It was a tempting offer, safety for her and her family. But was there such a thing as safety when it came to Peter? And she knew that if he was picking them off one by one, it was more than likely Jackson next, then her and more than likely everyone around her when it happened, including Stiles' father and probably Rebecca and Stiles. Sky took a deep breath and shook her head. "Nothing. I'm really sorry, sir."

He nodded in response, letting go of her and stepping back. Her stomach flipped at the awful look of disappointment on his face. She would rather he yell at her, tell her that he knew she was lying and she better tell him everything she knew straight away.

"I think you can see your friend now." He pointed down the hall to where Jackson had his face pressed against the large glass window of one of the private rooms as a doctor talked at him, obviously not realising that the boy wasn't taking in a word. "If you hear from Stiles, come and tell me please." He turned back towards his deputies and hurried away, leaving her in the middle of the hallway, wondering how everything had gone downhill so fast.

Making her way back to Jackson, she rubbed a hand down her face. She had called Stiles twenty eight times in the past hour and ten minutes, and they were all sent directly to voicemail. He was either in serious danger or avoiding her. Either way, she was going to kill him when she found him, unless he was already dead, then she would kill Peter. She stopped next to Jackson, resting her face against the glass. Lydia was so still that Sky might have thought she was dead if it wasn't for the monitor displaying her thankfully steady heartbeat. Her face was pale and void of any wounds. Peter must have been careful when he attacked her not to leave any other injuries besides the gaping bite mark in her side.

"You shouldn't have said that about Stiles," she whispered after several agonisingly silent moments. Her breath fogged up the glass and she had to wipe away the condensation so that she could keep her eyes locked on her best friend. "You know that he wouldn't leave her unless he had to. He really cares about her."

"He cares about you more," Jackson told her, voice strained but still trying to sound nonchalant. "I saw what you two were up to in the hall. He let Lydia wander off on her own."

"She was looking for you," Sky reminded him sharply. "While you were out telling the you-know-what hunters that Scott is a you-know-what. And I think they might have killed Derek. Imagine what they'll do to the you-know-what that was dating their daughter."

"Whatever," he muttered after a few seconds of glaring at her and pushing himself back from the window, turning away from her. "I need a drink." He stumbled slightly as he walked down the hall away from her.

She watched his retreating back with an angry sigh and rested her forehead against the cool glass, closing her eyes. She wasn't able for this right now, every single cell in her body was vibrating with an awful nervous energy as she mulled over the inevitable repercussions of tonight. They had managed to get away scot free the night at the school, besides a week long grounding for Stiles that had been broken the next day and Scott's heart had been broken, but in the grand scheme they were home free. Likewise when Stiles crashed into Peter's car, when Stiles had stolen Lydia's phone, when Peter had stalked them around the mall. But it was like a line had been crossed, and she could feel that there was no going back. Skyler reached into her bra, tugging her phone out of one of the cups. Stiles hadn't returned any of her calls yet, and there were no texts from him, Scott, Derek or Allison. If Chris and Kate knew that Scott was a werewolf then it was highly possible that Allison now knew. Derek had told her about his teenage dalliance with the huntress and that it had not ended well. Allison's aunt seemed to be the type that did not uphold The Code.

"Admiring your handiwork?"

Sky's head jerked to the side, eyes landing on the girl that had just been dominating her thoughts. Allison was standing a few feet away from her, eyeing her darkly. She wasn't wearing her Formal dress, she was wearing tight black leather pants, a black t-shirt and a black jumper over it. She looked practically homicidal. Sky stepped towards her, legs struggling to hold her up.

"You heard what happened then," she whispered, voice hoarse and cracking.

"I heard what you did," Allison spat back, moving closer to Skyler.

"What-what I did?!" Sky asked, furrowing her eyebrows as her friend. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"It was Peter Hale, the Alpha, that attacked her," Allison stared her down, striding forward until they were nearly chest to chest. Sky had to look up to meet her eyes, as Allison had several inches on her anyway, and she still hadn't put her shoes back on. "Wasn't it?!"

"You know?"

"My boyfriend changed into one of those things right in front of my eyes," Allison drawled, cocking one hip out. "It's kinda hard to deny it at this point." She scoffed, shaking her head. "I knew there was something going on, you saw the pain I was going through, with my family, with Scott, and you couldn't even tell me." Allison's face contorted in an angry sneer.

"You didn't need to know," Skyler answered weakly. Why couldn't Allison see that everything they had done was to protect the people they cared about? Her compassion for Allison was rapidly declining as she went on in her accusatory tone.

"You lied to me and you lied to Lydia, and now this," she threw an arm out at Lydia's room, practically spitting at Skyler now. "This is down to you. You and Scott and Stiles. If she dies, it's on your head."

"And what, precisely, do you think would have happened if I had told her? If I had told you?" Sky snarled, temper snapping as Allison pressed even closer. "Anyone who gets mixed up in this gets hurt. Lydia was an accident, it wasn't anyone's fault but Peter's, and Scott is going to find a way to stop him, Derek too, if your family haven't killed him already!"

"Don't you dare talk about my family," Allison hissed, taking a few short steps back. "My family have donw nothing but try to protect the people in this town, something you wouldn't understand!"

"I wouldn't understand?!" She laughed humourlessly, "That's what this has all been about! We were trying to figure out a way to stop Peter, and it would've worked it your family hadn't killed Derek! And I assume they're trying to kill Scott, too!"

"Derek's not dead!" She shrieked, calming herself once she realised that people were starting to stare. "My family wouldn't do that!"

"I don't think you know what your psychotic family is capable of!"

Allison's open hand connecting with her face hurt like hell. More so because it was so damn unexpected. Allison had always been sweet, if a bit of a drama queen, but slapping her was pretty out there. Sky's mouth dropped open and the shoes fell from her hand, clattering on the linoleum. Glancing over her friend's shoulder, she could see the Sheriff's hand fly automatically to the gun at his hip.

"Wow..." Sky let out a heavy breath. "That was impressive. I mean, I didn't think you had it in you."

"You have no idea what I am capable of," Allison told her, drawing back her hoodie to show Sky the Chinese ring dagger clipped to her belt.

"Jesus Christ, Allison," Sky snapped, grabbing hold of the hem of the jumped and yanking it down to cover the knife. "We're in a goddamn hospital in front of a bunch of cops and you try and pull a knife."

"Relax," Allison shoved past her roughly, moving to the window into Lydia's room. "I wasn't going to hurt you, I'm just here because I need to understand."

"Understand what?" Skyler asked warily, turning to watch her peer in at the girl on the bed.

"Kate was right, it's what they do, and they can't help it. They need to be taken care of," she said, voice emotionless. "All of them. Even Scott."

"You sound like you're trying to convince yourself rather than me, Ally," Sky murmured. "You need to think about this. Think about what you're doing. Did you know that Kate used to go out with Derek, you never thought that this might be personal?" She added vindictively, watching as Allison's body tensed.

"It's not going to be Kate that deals with Derek, it'll be me. She said I needed training, I guess this is it." It sounded like Allison was talking more to herself at this point than Skyler. She raised her hand and let the open palm rest against Lydia's window.

"So Derek really is alive then?" Sky moved to Allison's side, grabbing her arm and spinning her around. Her voice was steadily getting louder and louder, forgetting completely about the dozen cops watching their fight warily. "Where the hell are you keeping him?"

Allison turned back to face her, expression set in a rigid glare. "You would do well to stay out of my way tonight." She pushed back past Sky, making her stumble back a few steps, feet slipping. She listened to her retreating footsteps for a few seconds, before whirling round and staring after the girl just as she was entering the lift.

"ALLISON!" She roared, vocal chords stinging with the pressure it took to reach that volume. "This isn't a choice that can be undone, so think carefully." They locked eyes, watching each other intently until the doors slid shut and they were both lost from sight. She looked around, seeing that nearly everyone in the general area was watching her. "Oh, fuck this," she mumbled, shuffling back to her shoes and scooping them up. She threw herself down in one of the plastic seats and unlacing the boots. She wriggled her feet back into them and began to tie them. There was no way in hell that she was going to let this slide, that she was going to sit there and let them kill Derek.

"Skyler, are you alright?" The Sheriff threw himself down in the seat next to her.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she insisted without lifting her head up.

"Is everything alright with you and Allison? That looked pretty heated," he pried, watching her from the corner of his eye. "We saw her slap you."

"Yeah, yep, um, that," Sky sat up in her chair having finished retying her shoes. She wracked her brain for any viable excuse. "I kissed her boyfriend."

"Ooooh. Oh. So you and Scott are...together?" He nodded slowly, looking confused. "You and Stiles really aren't..."

"We're not having sex," she murmured resignedly.

"That's, that's nice. Right. Yes. Okay." His face flushed red and he looked away from her, trying to avoid eye contact.

"Look, Sheriff, thanks for being here and everything, but Rebecca called," she lied easily, it was becoming an awful habit of hers to life to everyone who cared about her. "She's gonna come and get me and we're going to go home and I'm gonna get changed and be right back. So... yeah. I'll see you later."

"Are you sure you're in a fit state to be wandering around right now? I know Lydia's your friend," he prompted, raising an eyebrow at her. "And she's been through a very traumatic experience, and I'm sure it was hard for you to see her like that."

"I'm fine. Oh, and that's Becca now," Sky waved her phone, hoping that the Sheriff wouldn't see that no one was calling her and standing up, backing away from Stiles' father. "She's in the parking lot, so..." She turned the corner into the adjacent corridor before he could call out to her again. She started to run, moving as fast as she could in the heels. She stopped by another set of elevators, pressing the button violently. When it arrived, she darted in, apologising breathlessly to the woman in the hospital gown she had nearly knocked over. The entire thirty second ride to the bottom floor was agonising, but it gave her time to plan, the first thing she had to do was get home. Sky knew that Rebecca was out for the night with her friend Marie, which made that part of the plan much easier. She didn't need Rebecca questioning her right now.

The shrill ding of the elevator reaching it's destination was the most welcome sound that Skyler had ever heard and she shoved her way out into the mercifully quiet reception. She smoothed down her dress and picked her hair out of the messy plaits, running her fingers through it to try and tame it. Sky walked calmly through the reception and out through the front doors, waiting until she was out of sight of everyone in the hospital before breaking into a sprint.

Thankfully, her house was only a few blocks from the hospital, but her feet were still aching, bruised, blistered and bleeding by the time she reached it. She limped up the stairs angrily, wishing she had never bothered putting the stupid heels back on. Once Sky was in her room she kicked off the shoes, cursing them aloud as she threw them into her wardrobe. Taking hold of her dress, she pulled it off over her legs, sending it flying after her heels. She dropped onto the chaise lounge where her laptop lay open, shivering in her bra and underwear as she held down the button and the laptop started up.

It didn't seem to be going near fast enough, the evil little loading wheel spinning round and round as her leg bounced up and down in frustration. The second her background screen popped, she was already opening Google. She remembered the first second time she had stayed at Allison's house and the girl had explained just how overprotective her parents were. They had installed GPS in her phone. Of course, when she had found out, Allison persuaded her father to give her the password, which she had changed, ensuring that they wouldn't be watching her every move. Sky's fingers danced across the keyboard, pulling up the GPS website, then hesitated.

"Come on, Allison, come on," she whispered to herself, staring intently at the little rectangular boxes that asked for a username and password. "Be predictable." They majority of people used their first pet as a password, so that was where Sky started. She typed Allison in first, then Binky into the password box, recalling Allison's story of her first dog.

'Incorrect. Two attempts remaining.'

"Balls." She bit her lip angrily, trying to remember anything Allison had told her about special childhood toys, pets, things that she had loved. Loved. That was it. Sky erased the letters in the password box, fingers drumming on the keys gently as she wondered whether or not it was worth the risk. She had two more chances and she needed to get this right, needed to get it right if she wanted to find Derek, and probably Scott too. She took a deep breath and typed Scott into the password space.

'Incorrect. One attempt remaining.'

"No!" She yelled, nearly shaking the laptop in anger before remembering that it was not a sentient being and it was not doing this on purpose. She had been sure that the password was Scott. What else could it be? Her Tumblr password was 'stiles95' and they weren't even dating. Scott was the most important part of Allison's life, she had said it earlier. Though Allison had never fully vocalised her feeling for Scott directly to him, she had told Lydia and Skyler on more than one occasion that she loved him. Loved him more than anything, more than them, more than Channing Tatum, more than chocolate, more than herself.

More than herself.

Now that really was it. Sky cleared the writing in bot boxes and retyped Scott into each, letting her finger hover over the Enter button for a few seconds before pressing it, holding her breath shakily.

'Correct.'

"Fuck yeah!" She punched the air in triumph. "But really, Ally, your username is 'Scott' and your password is also 'Scott'?" A grin broke out across her face before she remember the situation she was in and calmed herself. She watched as the little pixelated earth spun around, waiting for it to locate Allison's phone. She sat forward as it zoomed in on California. Beacon Hills appeared on the screen a few seconds later, moving in closer and closer to the Preserve at the edge of town. It stopped suddenly, fixating on a small path that led from the east side of the Preserve to Derek's house. The tiny red dot began to move slowly, every few seconds, up the road towards the Hale house.

"They're keeping him at his house," Sky told herself, standing suddenly and letting the laptop fall to the ground. She hurdled the chaise lounge, hurrying to her wardrobe and finding a comfy black t-shirt that she slid on over her head, some stretchy black jeans to go with it and a tight black wool sweater. She crouched on her haunches, too stressed to bother sitting down properly to tug on her boots. She tried not to dwell on what a terrible idea it was as she bounded downstairs, stopping on the way out to slip her phone and keys into her pocket.

Sky thanked whatever higher power there was that Rebecca had moved the Jeep out of the driveway, giving her plenty of space to back the Impala out. Accelerating down the street at a near dangerous speed, she tried to plan out the best route to Derek's in her head. Allison and Kate had to walk from the east entrance of the Preserve, which would take about twenty minutes, as there was no way in her that they could get a car down that path. If Sky went through the east entrance, which was only about ten minutes from her house, she could get her car up a dirt path, right to Derek's. She spun round the corner of the video store where she had been attacked, apologising to her car for putting it through such awful stress. She took one hand off the wheel, unlocking her phone with great difficulty due to the constant trembling of her fingers. There were several messages from Jackson wondering where she went, a few calls from Rebecca and quite a few from the Sheriff. Nothing from Stiles yet.

She tossed the phone onto the seat next to her. She assumed that the Sheriff had called Rebecca was had confirmed his obvious suspicion that Sky had been lying through her teeth. She could deal with that later, what she had to deal with now was the fact that her car was barely staying on the road and she had only just reached the Preserve. She hissed in irritation as a thin branch whipped her side mirror. The proximity of the trees were forcing her to slow the car to a crawl to manage to fit her way through.

There was a loud crack just behind the car and she peered over her shoulder for a second, the feeling of being watched washing over her suddenly, but there was nothing there. She was about to turn back when she heard a dreadful crunching sound. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she let her head drop forward in defeat, accepting her fate. She knew before she even looked that the Impala was jammed between two closing growing oak trees. There was something up there in the sky that was looking down on her and fucking up everything she was trying to achieve tonight. Sky tried to open her car door before realising that there was no way to get it open because she was stuck inbetween two fucking huge trees.

She wriggled into the back seat, smacking her tailbone against the gear stick and swearing violently in annoyance. Once she had managed to escape from the trapped car, she stood with her hands on her hips, glancing around her. She knew, from the times she had walked this way, that Derek's house was only about two hundred meters away. She could definitely run that, she didn't particularly want to, but she could. Groaning in irritation, she started to jog in the direction of the Hale house, slightly glad that the exercise was warming her body. The forest floor was littered with annoying natural obstacles that Sky had to clamber over, under and around, slowing her considerably to the point where she wasn't sure if she would make it there before Allison and Kate. It also gave her time to realise just how stupid she had been. She was entering the wolves' den, pun unintended but it still made her grin, without any plan, without any back-up, no one knew where she was, and even if she did get Derek out, the last time she had seen him, Derek had sided with Peter. The final thing that occurred to her was that she was going up against a highly skilled werewolf hunter without any weapons. She saw no way that this could end well for her. She was tempted to turn around and walk home, hopefully before she caught hypothermia, but she knew that she couldn't leave Derek.

The clearing was empty, save for the Hale house and some birds perched in their nests. It was unnerving to step into the open space, mist swirling around her ankles, leaves crunching underfoot. She jumped as the house creaked in the soft wind. She made her way to the steps of the porch, stooping to pick up a rock on the way. There was no one outside, but there may be people inside, and if it came to it, she wanted something, anything, to use as a makeshift weapon.

Sky placed her foot on the first step, cringing internally as it groaned under her, then the second, then the third. There was a crashing sound as she reached the top step, coming from deep inside the house. She hurried to the front door, pressing her back against the slats on the left side. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, flexing her fingers around the rock as two sets of quick footsteps approached the door. Skyler opened her eyes again as the door creaked open and she swung the rock, catching Scott in the ribs.

"Jesus Christ, McCall! There's this new thing, have you heard of it? It's called answering your fucking phone!" She yelled, letting the rock drop to the ground by her feet and running a hand through her hair.

"I was a small bit busy," he wheezed, clutching at his torso and grimacing in pain. It was only then that she realised his other arm was wrapped around a barely upright Derek. She took a few quick faltering steps back from them, watching the older werewolf with trepidation. "It's okay, it's okay. He's on our side. It's okay!" Scott held out a hand trying to reassure her.

"And how d'you know that?" Sky eyed Derek warily, feeling her entire body tense. "Last time I saw him, he decided that Peter's side was the better choice. How can you be sure that he changed his mind?"

"Peter killed Laura, not out of confusion or anger or because he didn't know what he was doing," Derek explained, through pained grunts. "But because he wanted her power, he wanted to be an Alpha. She was my family. Please, Sky." He stared at her plaintively as she chewed on the jagged edge of her thumbnail. "Skyler." She groaned in resignation, hurrying to Derek's side and slipping an arm around him.

"We gotta get going. Allison and Kate are on their way," Sky told them, helping guide Derek down the steps. "They're coming in from the east entrance, my car's not too far from here, towards the west entrance. Only, it's a little bit stuck."

"How can a car be 'a little bit stuck'?" Scott asked her in confusion, disbelief colouring his expression.

"I might not have been looking exactly where I was going, and driven it inbetween two trees and it didn't really fit," Skyler admitted, flushing in embarrassment. "I know it was stupid, but you two are werewolves, you're all strong and werewolfy, you guys can just, like, push it out or whatever."

"I don't think Derek's in any state to be pushing cars." Scott and Sky glanced at Derek. He was peering around the clearing, taking in every inch of the area. He didn't even seem to be listening to what they were saying.

"Why? What did they do?" Sky asked, tucking herself further under Derek's arm, hoisting him up higher.

"Electrocuted him. There's a certain level of electricity that can force us to change, or stop of us from changing at all," Scott muttered, sounding shaky. "They kept him on that level. Almost constantly."

"Scott, Allison knew about this," Sky whispered apologetically, stumbling over a small log. "She was going to hurt Derek, maybe kill him, and you need to be prepared-"

"Hey. Hold on, hold on. Hold on," Derek interrupted her breathily, digging his heels into the ground and forcing all three of them to stop. "Something doesn't feel right."

"Can we discuss this when we get back to the car, please?" Sky implored, tugging on his arm.

"No, we can't," Derek answered sharply, watching her out of the corner of his eye.

"I don't know, it's..." He broke off, looking around in suspicion. "It's kind of life it's-"

"No, don't say 'too easy'! People say 'too easy' and bad things happen," Scott moaned, craning his neck to take in the clearing. "What, do you think finding you was easy? Getting away from Allison's dad? None of this has been easy."

"Fine," Derek conceded, grudgingly, starting to shuffle forwards again. "You're right."

"Thank you," Scott muttered, tugging Derek along.

They had only moved a few feet from where they had stopped when an arrow came flying past Sky's face and embedded itself in Derek's shoulder, knocking them back a few steps and nearly sending Sky flying. She screamed once, loud and piercing as she felt Derek's blood spatter across her face. Her eyes flickered up to the crest of the small hill at the east side of the clearing. Allison and Kate were standing there, looking down at the three of them. Allison's compound bow was already loaded, pointing at Derek. Before they could drag him out of the way, another arrow came sailing down and landed right in Derek's thigh. His body dropped, crumpling backwards and taking Sky with him. Scott slipped out of the way, leaning up against a tree.

"Scott, your eyes!" Sky was lying next to him on the ground, one arm still crushed under his back and was trying wriggle her way out from underneath him. "Sky! Stay down!" He yelled and slid his arm around her, moaning in the pain from his injured shoulder, and pressed her down against him, tucking her head into his chest. There was a few short seconds before she heard a thunk sound a few meters to the right and saw, even through her closed lids which were tucked against Derek, a flash of blinding light and heard Scott hit the ground with a groan.

Sky felt Derek push her off, leaning up so that she could pull her arm out from under him. She rolled to the side, getting her knees under her and clambering to her feet. She gripped his forearm and he clasped hers, attempting to pull himself up. Derek was stupidly heavy, but Sky tried to forget that and drag him away from Allison and Kate who were starting to descend, another arrow loaded in her crossbow, pointed at the two of them. Sky loosened her grip on Derek's waist and moved around so that she stood in front of him, shielding him from the two woman. She shoved him back a few steps, having to shift her weight backwards to balance them keep him from pulling the two of them over. They were nearly at Scott when Skyler heard the twanging sound of an arrow being released. She was ready to drag Derek down, try and force him into the cover of the treeline but before she could even fully form the thought, her side exploded in agonising pain.

It was too intense for her to even her scream, the pain seemed to be cutting off all her senses and the only thought she could even comprehend at that second was that she never thought that Allison would actually shoot her. The next thing that occurred to her was that the arrow had ruined both her shirt and jumper, it was so trivial and ridiculous, but it was so overwhelming. Sky felt herself tilt forward, slamming painfully against Derek's chest and knocking him backwards. A groan ripped from her throat as she felt the arrow shift in her abdomen as they hit the ground. She couldn't even roll over. Derek was trying to slide her off of him, but she was dead weight and being seriously unhelpful.

"Get up, Skyler, get up! Now, Skyler! Right now!" Derek snarled, snapping his teeth at her.

"Derek, it hurts, it really hurts," she croaked, trying not to shift any part of her body. "I can't move. I can't heal like you. Derek, I'm dying. I'm seriously dying."

"You're not dying, goddamn it, get up!" Derek yelled, finally managing to shove her off, not bothering to apologise as she landed face down on the floor, trying not to get any leaves in her mouth. "This is gonna hurt, I'm sorry, but it is. You need to keep at least some of it, Sky, it'll stop the bleeding."

"Derek, what are you doing? What the hell are you-" She could feel him grip the shaft of the arrow and place his other hand flat on her stomach. His hand was shaking so hard that it sent vibrations down the arrow and into her torso. Without giving her any warning, he snapped the shaft, leaving only around two inches sticking out of the wound. She shrieked angrily and wriggled away from him as fast as she could, which was not very fast at all seeing as she was steadily losing blood. Once she felt like she was at a safe enough distance that would prevent anymore serious injury on behalf of Derek or Allison, she stopped, putting an inordinate amount of effort into flopping onto her back, raising herself up onto her elbows.

Allison was advancing on Scott, crossbow in hand, quiver slung over one shoulder, Scott was shuffling backwards, terror on his face. Derek lay face down a few feet away, breathing heavily, and Kate watched from a several meters away, an unnervingly proud look on her face as Allison came to a stop in front of the young werewolf.

"Allison, I can explain." Scott's voice was strangely deep, uneven. Sky squinted, peering through the darkness at Scott. His eyes were a bright yellow in the gloom, hair longer then usual and shaggier. It dawned on Sky that this is what he looked like when he was changed. She had never seen him like that before, so animalistic, but it was unlike Peter when he was changed. Peter was a beast, evil and hulking, Scott still seemed so like Scott. He had mutton chops either side of his face, a heavily pronounced T-zone and sharp canines, but she could still see the boy that was kind to her, who asked for help with his Biology homework and sat with her and Stiles, playing video games for hours. He was still her friend, and she couldn't understand how anyone could hurt him.

"Stop lying," Allison snapped, voice angry even though it was still shaking. "For once, stop lying."

"Allison-" Sky called, pushing herself into an upright position, but fell silent as she heard Kate cock her gun and saw it point in her direction.

"I was gonna tell you the truth at the Formal, I was gonna tell you everything," Scott begged, scrambling over the leaves, making his way towards the house. Derek was in too much pain to move, unable to heal with the arrows still stick in the wounds, and Sky could only watch, hoping that Kate wouldn't actually pull the trigger and hoping that the blood flow from her shoulder was starting to slow down because she was beginning to feel sickeningly light headed. "Because everything that I said, everything that I did-"

"Was to protect me," Allison finished in obvious disbelief.

"Yes," Scott told her, expression falling as she shook her head gently.

"I don't believe you," she whispered, looking down dejectedly.

"Thank God," Kate drawled, finally dropping her gun back to her side and sauntering towards Allison and Scott. "Now shoot him before I have to shoot myself."

"You-you said we were just gonna catch them," Allison said, turning to her aunt in shock.

"We did that," Kate agreed lightly, fiddling with the safety on her gun before pointing it straight at Derek. "Now we're gonna kill them." Derek had only just raised his head off of the ground when Kate's bullet hit him in the chest, knocking him back to the ground. Sky screamed in surprise, jumping to her feet and stumbling back.

"I warned you," Sky spat, wobbling on her unsteady legs. Allison's eyes flitted to her and Skyler thought that she was a brief moment of remorse, as, even though her jumper was an inky black, it was easy to see where the blood was staining her clothes. Even the tips of her hair were clotted with the substance. "You make this choice you can't take it back."

"Oh, shut up, Little Miss Sunshine," Kate called, waving the gun haphazardly and turning to Allison. "See? Not that hard." She raised an eyebrow at Allison, but the indecision was clear on her niece's face. Sky felt no pity for her. She had made the decision to shoot her, Derek and Scott. She'd made her bed and now she had to lie in it, probably covered in Scott's blood. "Oh, no. I know that look. That's the 'you're gonna have to do it yourself' look." Kate raised her arm, leveling the gun directly at Scott's chest.

"Kate," Allison gasped. She was seemingly finally coming to grips with the magnitude of the situation. "Kate, what are you doing?"

"I love those brown eyes," she whispered absentmindedly, finger tightening around the trigger.

"Kate!"

Sky jumped in fear as the shout rang out across the clearing. Her initial worry was that Kate would also jump in fright and set the gun off, but thankfully, she simply whirled round to face her brother, keeping the gun at chest height.

"I know what you did!" He ground out slowly, raising his own gun to point as his sister. His eyes were dark and stormy, hers were still playful but had hardened slightly at the appearance of her brother. "Now put the gun down." Sky felt her legs buckle underneath her and grabbed at a nearby tree to hold herself off the ground. White spots were starting to dance at the edge of her vision and she was putting all of her effort into not fainting.

"I did what I was told to do," she replied flatly, glancing around at the five other people in the clearing. Scott, still bloody and on his ass, Derek, bleeding and impaled, Skyler, leaning against a tree to hold herself up, and the two members of her family who now seemed opposed to her murderous nature.

"No one asked you to murder innocent people. There were children in that house, ones who were human!" Chris spat. Sky heard a sharp intake of breath from Derek and saw his face transform from pain to anger, baring his teeth at Kate. Due to the steady flow of blood seeping from her abdomen, Sky was a little dozy and quite slow on the uptake. Everyone else was watching Kate with horrified, disgusted looks on their faces but it took Sky another few moments before it really hit her.

"Fuck," she breathed out, mouth dropping open. Kate had burned down the Hale house. Derek had told her that the circumstances of the fire were suspicious, that he had dated Kate, she had ended it suddenly and that he found out a few weeks later that she was a hunter. But neither of them had had the good sense to put the pieces together. Kate had lit the house on fire and let it burn to the ground, killing everyone inside. Well, everyone apart from Derek, Peter and Laura, although a sick part of Skyler wished that it had killed Peter. It would've solved a lot of problems for all of them. Kate sighed, staring imploringly at her older brother.

"Look what you're doing now," Chris continued, edging closer, gun hand unwavering. "You're holding a gun at a sixteen year old boy with no proof that he spilled human blood." He paused for a second, glancing at Scott and breathing deeply. "We go by the code - nous chassons ceux qui nous chassent."

"We hunt those who hunt us," Allison supplied quietly, looking ashamed.

"Put the gun down," Chris repeated, shifting his hand slightly to the left of Kate's face. Her gun hand shook as she stared her brother down, daring him to try anything. The shot that Chris fired the next second embedded itself into the bark of the tree barely an inch or two from Kate's head. She jumped in shock, in total disbelief that her brother would shoot at her. Chris simply set his mouth in a hard line, never breaking eye contact. Kate stared for a second then lowered her arm slowly, letting it drop back to her side, fingers loosening around the barrel of the gun.

What seemed to have escaped their notice during the short lived Mexican stand-off was the real problem that they were facing tonight. It was brought flying back to the forefront of their minds, most unwelcome, by the door of the Hale house creaking open. Skyler's entire body tensed and she swore, feeling the arrow head dig a little deeper. She let go of the tree, moving in slow, small steps towards Chris, feeling safer and safer the closer she came to the hunter with the gun. She stopped just shy of him, flinching as Kate raised her gun again, pointing it at the now open front door.

"Allison, get back," Chris commanded firmly, flexing his hand on his firearm and lifting his second hand to support the first. Scott struggled to his feet, grimacing at the aches and pains in his body.

"What is it?" Allison asked fearfully, voice barely above a whisper.

"It's the Alpha," Scott answered. The fear was obvious in his voice. It made Skyler shiver, she had faced the Alpha before and he had been terrifying, but a creature that struck that level of fear into other werewolves was seriously worrying.

A large black mass darted out of the door, aiming straight for the little huddled group. Allison raised her bow as Peter passed within a few meters of them, zipping past and disappearing into the tree line. Sky spun on her heel, facing the trees, searching the darkness for Derek's uncle. The entire group were standing in a circle facing out, backs nearly pressed together. The werewolf burst out the trees on the opposite side of the clearing and sped past them again, Chris and Kate firing aimlessly at him. He was gone again, back into the shadows, noise of his heavy paws dying out. He returned a few seconds later, only the soft sound of hid running alerting her to his approach. Chris hit the ground, gun skittering from his hand, head cracking against the hard forest floor. Allison went a few seconds later, flying back several feet and landing at the base of a tree. Scott backed up until he reached Skyler, stopping a few feet in front of her. Peter was pacing slowly in front of the house, tossing his head. He pawed the ground once or twice before charging at Scott, knocking him back into Sky, sending them both sprawling. Scott groaned at he landed on his side, clutching his wounds and writing. Sky hit the floor on her back and arched upwards, hissing as she felt the arrow dislodge and blood dribble out of the hole in her side.

"Come on!" Kate yelled, spinning around, keeping an eye out for the Alpha, keeping her gun steady. "COME ON!"

Sky blinked back the oncoming headache and rolled onto her hands and knees, watching Kate worriedly. Her eyes trailed up to the steps of the house, and she saw Peter standing there. He wasn't an animal anymore, he was a scary as hell six foot human, black pants, red shirt and leather jacket. If she had just seen him on the street, Sky probably wouldn't have even noticed him. But she knew him, and she knew what he was capable of. He strode powerfully towards Kate, grasping her arm as soon as he was within her grasp, twisting it backwards to keep it away from him. The gun fired at the exact same instant that Kate's arm snapped. Skyler actually could hear the bone splitting in two from across the clearing.

She dropped the gun, mouth opening in a silent scream of pain. Peter gripped her even tighter and flung his arm out, sending Kate crashing onto the porch. The Alpha glanced over his shoulder, grinning savagely at Skyler as she crouched on the leaves, watching Kate squirming on the porch. He sauntered up the steps, standing over Kate and watching her with an almost affectionate look on his face before reaching down and wrapping a hand around her throat, tugging her into the house after him.

"No!" Allison screeched, scrambling wildly to her feet. She ran after her aunt, feet slipping and sliding on the piles of wet leaves. Sky shouted after her, begging her to come back, but Allison kept running, up the steps and into the house. She got up on one knee, nearly sobbing in pain, then pushed herself into a standing position, allowing herself a few moments to clear her head before stumbling wildly after Allison. She almost tripped up the stairs, clutching the railing to stop herself from collapsing. Staggering into the dank front room, she practically crashed into Allison who was standing in the doorway, watching Peter and Kate in horror.

Peter was across the room, back to the window, Kate in front of him with one of the Alpha's hands pressed to her throat. She was shaking under his touch, arm held at an unnatural angle, hair sticking up every which way. He was smiling serenely over her shoulder, eyes roving over the two girls.

"She is beautiful, Kate," Peter murmured into Kate's ear, eyes narrowing. "She looks like you. Probably not as damaged." Kate shook slightly in his grasp, her eyes locked on Allison too. "So, I'm going to give you a chance to save her. To save Sky, too. I don't really wanna kill Skyler though. She has so much more to give." He shook his head gently in disappointment. "You could have been here, beside me. You could've been my pack."

"Get fucked," she slurred, stumbling sideways and very nearly taking Allison over with her.

"See, if you'd accepted my offer, you could've been healed quite nicely by now. You could tear the throat out of the one who shot you." He peered at the arm Allison had wrapped around Skyler's shoulders to keep her upright, raising an eyebrow. "I don't have to kill either of them. If you just apologise to them. Say that you're sorry for decimating my family, for leaving me burned and broken for six years," he growled, voice growing harsher and more animalistic. "Say it." He took a deep breath. "And I'll let them live."

They could both see it on Kate's face the second that Peter had finished speaking. She would never apologise to him, it wasn't that she was too proud to say that she was sorry. She simply wasn't sorry from murdering an entire family. Kate's eyes flickered over the two girls, settling on Allison.

"I'm sorry." It wasn't for Peter, it was for Allison. She was apologising for leading her down that path, for forcing her to shoot Derek, her boyfriend and one of her closest friends. She was sorry for showing Allison what was really lurking out there in the big wide world, because she could never take it back.

"I don't know about you two," he smiled demurely down at Kate. "But that apology...didn't sound very sincere."

They were silent for a few long moments, Peter tracing one claw along his neck. He paused and lifted his hand from Kate's throat before spreading his fingers and tearing through the flesh, letting his nails cut down to the vocal chords. Sky was too shocked to scream but held tight to Allison as the girl sobbed, staring down at her aunt's dead body as it dropped to the floor, limbs splaying awkwardly. Peter moved forward, stepping carelessly over Kate's dead body. She clutched tighter at Allison, pulling her back and trying to stay on her feet. She was just about to run when a growl sounded from her left, and Scott stalked out of the shadows by the open front door, drawing Peter's attention. A few seconds later, Derek emerged on the other side, fully shifted into his werewolf form, eyes unsettlingly blue.

"Run!" Scott growled, jerking his head towards the door.

Sky went first, clutching Allison's shoulder and dragging the girl after her. She stopped on the porch, pushing Allison to carry on. Turning back to peer inside the house, Sky could see Scott dive at the Alpha, and heard the thundering crash that ensued. She could also hear Allison rushing to her father's side, calling out to him. She turned to follow her friend and her legs gave out, sending her tumbling down the creaky wooden steps, her head slamming against the edge of the steps and rolling a few meters across the damp ground, whimpering in pain. She lay on her face, breathing in and out the mildew smell of the leaves. She could vaguely hear Allison calling out her name, but decided she would rather lie there and not move, hoping to slip gently in unconsciousness.

There was crashing and banging and the sounds of fighting coming from inside the house. She knew that she should get up and go help, but she couldn't bring herself to move until she heard a loud smashing sound and had to curl into a fetal position as shards of glass rained down on her. Sky could feel someone sailing through the air above her and uncurled her body, army crawling out of the way. Once she was at a safe distance, she flipped onto her back. Scott was still sliding across the ground on his back as Peter leaped put of the window after him, back in his animal form. Skyler shrieked, scooting back on her ass as he landed not very far from her feet, bounding immediately towards Scott. He crouched low over the boy, teeth snapping a few inches from his face. The younger werewolf pulled his legs up to his chest, placing his feet flat on Peter's chest and kicking him away long enough to regain his footing, scrambling upright.

They were interrupted by a car horn screeching from a few meters behind Sky and blinding headlights flickering to life. She could feel the heat of the bulbs warming the back of her neck and swiveled round, taking in the most unexpected, but welcome, sight of Jackson's Porsche, parked haphazardly at the edge of the clearing. She was surprised to see the owner of the car clamber out of the passenger seat of the car, and her stomach dropped as Stiles threw the driver's side door open and stumbled out. Why did he have to be there? Why did he insist on putting himself in such awful, constant mortal danger. His eyes fell on Sky, staring in horror before shaking his head rapidly and drawing his arm back and then letting it fly, releasing the corked mixing flask of self-igniting Molotov cocktail. She could swear that Peter rolled his eyes before reaching out one paw and closing it around the flask, holding it up as if to show off his superiority.

"Oh, damn," Stiles murmured, skirting around the car and rushing to Sky's side. He dropped to his knees beside her and cupped her face in his hands, running the pads of his thumbs along her cheekbones. "Sky. Sky. Skyler, are you okay?"

"Stiles, m-my stomach, I c-c-can't s-stop it from bleeding," Sky stammered. She clutched at him, fingers digging into his shoulders. Her entire body was shivering, being overtaken by a cold that she couldn't quite seem to shake. She pressed closer to him, hoping that he would warm her up. He wrapped his arms right around her, twisting his fingers through her hair.

"Allison!" Scott yelled, drawing their attention back to the actual fight that happening behind them. He stooped, snagging her bow and throwing it over to her. She grasped it in one hand, drawing an arrow from the quiver with her other hand and loading the bow, aiming right at Peter. Everything was quiet for a few seconds before Allison let it fly, sending it straight into the flask. It exploded outwards, letting the fire spread all over Peter's body. Sky flinched against Stiles, her mind racing as fast as it could, remembering what had put Peter into the coma in the first place. And now he was burning up all over again. Allison sent another arrow flying into his shoulder and Jackson saw his opening to send his own Molotov cocktail flying straight at Peter's chest. He roared in pain and anger, stumbling towards Allison in a last ditch attempt to exact some sort of revenge. Scott jumped wildly, drop kicking Peter as hard as he could in the face. The Alpha staggered backwards, body transforming every seconds, features becoming more and more human until he hit the ground on his back, a man once again.

No made a noise for nearly a minute apart from Scott and Skyler's heavy breathing and the crackling of the still burning body lying on the ground. The first to move was Allison. She stood, leaving her bow by her father and making her way slowly, but surely towards Scott, still crouched on his haunches in the middle of the clearing, fully transformed. It was still unsettling for Skyler to see him like this. Allison reached him, dropping to her knees next to him and cupping his face in her hands. He recoiled gently but she followed, pressing her lips to his. Usually, Sky would've looked away from that kind of intimacy, but she just didn't have the energy. It was all oozing from her open wound. Allison was still kissing him and when she pulled back, Sky could see that his face, back to normal, back to human.

"Why did you do that?" He asked softly, staring at Allison like she was the only thing he could see.

"Because I love you," she answered simply, seemingly having changed her mind about killing him. Scott may have accepted that, but Sky was still smarting about the whole shooting her incident. It would've been quite romantic if it weren't for the burning body in the background.

There was a quiet thumping sound, drawing everyone's attention towards the house. Derek was descending the steps of the porch, moving gracefully even though he had been on the brink of death a few minutes ago. Sky could feel Stiles' arms tighten around her. He made his way across the fallen foliage, face set and determined. He stood over his uncle, who was still twitching but decidedly less on fire than he had been a few minutes ago. He was staring down at him curiously, as if he was wondering how Peter could do such atrocious things.

"Derek, please," Sky called as loudly as she could, coughing wildly and seeing large flecks of blood spatter across Stiles' shirt. "Derek, I know what you're thinking, please don't do this."

He looked over at her, and she truly couldn't tell what he was feeling. He didn't look hurt, angry, excited, anything. He was emotionless and it wasn't in the usual 'I'm Derek Hale So I Can't Be Happy' way. He looked so dead inside that it terrified her. Turning away, he bent to one knee, drawing an arm back, splaying fingers, claws extended. It was then that Scott also realised what he was doing.

"Wait! You said the cure comes from the one who bit you," Scott called, running to Derek, one arm outstretched. He inclined his head, eyes searching Scott's, raising his eyebrows. "Derek, if you do this, I'm dead." He gestured towards Allison, whose father was trying to tug her away from them, seriously unhappy that Allison had just declared her love for a werewolf. "Her father, her family, what am I supposed to do?" Derek looked down, seeming almost ashamed that he considered killing Peter. Sky thought she saw some indecision on his face, and hoped that he would make the right choice. But the anger that had been taking over Derek since he had found his sister's bisected body was too much for him, and Peter knew it.

"You've...already...decided..." Peter's voice was disgustingly raspy and grating. His body was like something you would see in a movie, blackened and charred with red hot flesh visible through cracks in the coal like skin. His eyes were locked on Derek's, challenging him to swing his open hand, to tear out his throat. "I can smell it on you!" Derek began to shake gently, hand flexing for a few seconds as everyone started on in anticipation until his arm began to swing, making for his uncle's throat.

"Wait!" Scott shouted, watching in horror. "No, no! Don't!"

But it was too late. Derek's claws were raking across the Alpha's throat, spraying blood every which way. Sky could hear the gurgling sound from across the clearing as Peter began to choke in his own blood and tucked her head against Stiles' neck. It went on for at least another minute or two before the noise died out and she felt comfortable enough to raise her head from Stiles' shoulder. Chris had stopped his efforts to remove Allison from the clearing and was instead gripping his gun, ready to take Derek's head off if he so much as made a move towards any of them.

Sky's entire body bristled with anger, filled with indignant anger. She couldn't understand how Derek could do that to them. Scott had a chance, a real chance at a normal life, and Derek just ripped it up and threw it out the window with a swipe of his claws. She had though of him as a friend, someone that she could go to, and had gone to with a problem, when she needed an ear, but now he had turned his back on them. She wondered what had happened to pack, to the brotherhood. She gently pushed Stiles back, trying to climb to her feet, wobbling several times and, eventually, Stiles had to wrap his arms around her and hold her up. Skyler was seething, and she wanted Derek to know it, not that he would care. He turned to the little group, raising his head to show his new, blood coloured eyes. He paused for a second before he spoke and Sky had to strain her ears to hear exactly what he had to say to them.

"I'm the Alpha now."

Skyler's field of vision began to narrow, darkness creeping in at the edge of her eyes. All she could see was Derek, but she couldn't tell whether or not he was looking at her. She could, however, tell that he looked incredibly worried, but he kept fading in and out of view as her head lolled backwards and forwards. He took a step in her direction, stretching a hand out to her and she was sure he said something, but she couldn't quite tell what it was. Derek narrowed his crimson eyes and took another hasty step towards her. She felt Stiles' arms leave her as he moved in front of her, shielding her from the new Alpha. Sky trembled where she stood for a few seconds as she felt something warm running down her leg and glanced down, seeing a thick stream of blood working its way from her abdomen down her leg and into her shoes. She pressed her hand to the wound and realised that she could no longer feel the arrow in there. The one thing that had been stopping her from bleeding out was now on the ground somewhere, probably dislodged when she had fallen down the steps of the house. She pressed both hands to her abdomen, trying in vain to keep the blood inside her body.

"Stiles," she breathed, unable to keep her eyes open any longer. "Stiles..."

Skyler could barely hear him as he called out to her, could barely feel him cupping her face. She leaned into his warm hand, and it was the last thing she felt before all her senses failed her and she collapsed, head colliding painfully with a small rock before she finally allowed herself to slip into unconsciousness.

 _ **It's been a few months since I started this, and I was not expecting the amount of love you guys were gonna give it. I can't thank you enough for all the reviews and favourites and follows, and especially all the people who PM'ed me. You guys are why I write. There will be a sequel, but it might take some time as I have exams coming up in the next few weeks and then it's Christmas (yay). I will put a notification up on this story when I start to post the new one, and also, I'm kinda stuck for a name for the new story, so if anyone has one they want to submit, leave it in the reviews or PM me, and if it's used I will give you full credit, and even if it's not, I'll give you guys a mention. Keep reading. And hopefully reviewing XX**_


	23. AN

_**HEY GUYS! FIRST CHAPTER OF NEW STORY UP!**_


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